APPLES 



139 



headed trees interfere with orchard cul- 

 tivation is easily met by the fact that a 

 great many of our trees have a habit of 

 growth which permits work under their 

 branches even when low-headed without 

 additional inconvenience. Those which 

 do not have such a habit can be improved 

 by proper pruning, and the head need 

 be only a little higher than in the others. 

 The low-headed tree, therefore, is rapidly 

 becoming the only one used in commer- 

 cial plantings. 



The question is often asked, "What is 

 the proper height to head an apple tree?" 

 Authorities differ, some giving one foot 

 as the desired height, others as much as 

 three feet. It is scarcely wise to make 

 any hard and fast rule as the height 

 which will be found most advantageous 

 will vary with different varieties. For 

 upright growing varieties like Wealthy 

 and Northwestern, 18 inches to two feet 

 will be sufficient. Varieties like Long- 

 field with a spreading habit and slen- 

 der branches should be headed somewhat 



higher. 



J. G. Moore, 



Madison, Wis. 



Treatment of Trees When ReeeiTed 

 From the Nursery 



Just as soon as the trees are received 

 from the nursery they should be unpacked 

 and planted. If the ground is not ready 

 when the trees are received they should 

 be "heeled in." If the trees are to re- 

 main heeled in a long w-hile be sure that 

 the bundles are separated and the trees 

 carefully placed in the trench. Care 

 should be taken that the dirt should be 

 properly placed around the roots so there 

 will be no air spaces left. After the 

 trees are heeled in, water them thor- 

 oughly and in this way any air spaces 

 that are left will be noticed after the soil 

 settles, and the holes or cracks left may 

 be filled. 



Occasionally trees arrive in very dry 

 condition and one does not know just 

 what to do with them. One of the best 

 things to do is to bury the whole tree, 

 root and top. in moist soil for a few days. 

 By burying the whole tree it will take 

 in moisture slowly and will gradually 

 resume its plump condition. The prac- 



tice of putting the dried trees in water 

 is not to be recommended. 



Fabian Garcia, 

 Santa Fe, N. M. 



Preparing: the Trees for Planting 



The treatment that a young tree should 

 receive before planting consists chiefly in 

 pruning the tops and roots. The main 

 object of such pruning is to readjust the 

 balance between top and root which in 

 the process of digging is somewhat dis- 

 turbed. 



Trimming the Roots. — While a large 

 root system is an indication of a vigor- 

 ous tree, it is not essential to the suc- 

 cessful development of a tree. It has 

 been found by experiment that trees with 

 their roots severely cut back thrive just 

 as well as those with elaborate root sys- 

 tems intact. The fibrous roots on a young 

 tree are not of value, for these are al- 

 ways killed in transplanting and the tree 

 throws out a new root system. The vital- 

 ity of a young tree, then, depends more 

 upon the energy stored up in its stem 

 than upon its root development. This 

 is an important point, for a tree with 

 a small root system is more expeditiously 

 planted than one with an elaborate sys- 

 tem. All mangled roots should be cut 

 off cleanly and all the main roots should 

 be cut back to about three or four inches 

 of the trunk. 



C. D. Jarvis, 

 Storrs, Conn. 



THE BOOT PRUMIVG OF TOU]VG 

 FRriT TREES 



Strinpfellow System 



The following conclusions as to the 

 value of the Stringfellow system of root 

 pruning were formulated by Mr. G. Harold 

 Powell of the California Fruit Exchange 

 some years ago while horticulturist at the 

 Delaware Experiment Station. 



Both root pruning and top pruning are 

 helpful to a transplanted tree, for the 

 original harmony between root and branch 

 is disturbed in its removal from the nur- 

 sery. 



The Stringfellow system removes all the 

 roots, and shortens the body to a foot or 

 eighteen inches in length. 



The advocates of the new method claim 



