-3- 



aro concernod v/ith the dovolopmont and maintenance of tno right 

 kind of leaves. Even in thinning, v/e are merely assigning a 

 proper quota of leaves for the remaining fruit. And so in answer 

 to the question, "Am 1 a fruit grower", the v/riter answers "No, 

 I merely cooperate with the tree in the growth of good leaves, 

 and incidentally, the tree somehov; grows a crop of fruit." 



Resul ts of Setti ng Immature Fruit Tree s 



Two U, S. 'D. a. Investigators, Gardner and Yerkes, report 

 the following observations at Arlington Experiment Farm, Virginia, 

 Mazzard seedling cherry trees v/ere dug at weekly Intervals from 

 Sept. 22 to Nov. 24, The results 3ho\/ that digging before a cer- 

 tain degree of maturity is reached is decidedly harmful. In the 

 Sept. 22 lot, only 10.5 percent survived as compared with 99 per- 

 cent for the stock dug Nov. 3, This hears out the experience of 

 others who have attempted to transplant trees before they were 

 fully m.ature in the fall. It appears that unless the tree has had 

 time to store up a good supply of carbohydrates in the fall, its 

 chances of survival are none too good. A few days ago we heard of 

 a prospective orchardist who is planning to sot several thousand 

 trees next Sept. Our advice is suinmed up In one word "don't". 



A Young Tr ee i n an O l d Orchard 



It is a matter of common observation that a young tree 

 planted where an old one was removed, fails to make satisfactory 

 gro¥/th. The reason is not always apparent. In years past it was 

 believed that the soil which previously supported the tree may 

 contain a toxic material which retards the growth of the new tree. 

 If the young tree is surrounded by older trees, poor growth can 

 be "explained on the basis of root competition and shading. Since 

 the roots of a tree extend outv,/ard much farther than the branches, 

 the young tree encounters serious competition, since the soil to 

 which it Is entitled is already being occupied and exploited by 

 neighboring trees. Lighting conditions may also be unsatisfactory 

 if the older trees are less than 40 or 50 feet av;ay. 



An interesting experiment was recently reportod by two 

 workers at the Ontario Horticultural Experiment Station, Vlneland, 

 Ontario. Nursery stock was planted on an area from which a 

 peach orchard had been removed. Measurements of the young trees 

 showed that the areas of weak growth coincided almost exactly with 

 the former location of the poach trees. Six years after the re- 

 moval of the peaches and v/hen almost all old roots of the peaches 

 v/ere completely disintegrated, it was still possible to detect the 

 location of peach trees by the inferior grov/th of the young nur- 

 sery stock, ■ Chemical studies of soil samples showed a clearly 

 defined difference in soluble phosphorus and potassium in favor of 

 the spaces not previously occupied. Also, corresponding differen- 

 ces in nitrogen v/ere noted as might be expected, while the old 

 roots were decaying. And thus it appears that the soil in this 

 nursery had been partially depleted of available plant food by the 

 previous trees. All of these things seem to point to the need for 

 giving the young tree especial attention if we expect it to grov/. 



