152 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



I'late II. The Ilexasoual Method of Laying Out an Orchard. Fig. 1 shows the methi:)d of 

 marking off the field. Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the trees with a filler in the center 

 of each group of four permanent trees. Fig. 3 shows the arrangement of the trees after 

 the fillers have been removed. Observe that the trees are equidistant from each other and 

 that there is but a small, open space in the center of each group of three trees. 



cunx systems. Where the trees are set 

 sufficiently far apart, say 36 feet, an extra 

 tree may be set in the center of each 

 diamond, as shown in Plate II, Fig. 2. 

 This would place the tree rows 30 feet 

 apart, and 18 feet apart in the row. As 

 a result the trees would be arranged in 

 rectangles. 18x30 feet, giving them plenty 

 of room one way, but making them some- 

 what close the other way. Trees planted 

 in this way may be retained longer than 

 when they are planted but 18 feet apart. 

 Following this method, 80 trees to the 

 acre may be set, half of which would be 

 fillers. If fillers are used in this way, it 

 would be advisable to have the closer 

 planted rows run east and west to ad- 

 mit more sunlight between the trees. If 

 the distance between the permanent 

 trees is increased, say to 42 feet, a filler 

 may be placed between each pair of per- 

 manent trees in every dirction. This 

 would retain the hexagonal arrangement, 

 but the hexagons would be only half the 

 size of those formed by the permanent 

 trees. With such an arrangement there 

 would be four times more fillers than 

 permanent trees. When the trees com- 

 mence to crowd the thinning may be done 

 by removing ever.v alternate row across 

 the field, leaving the fillers in the cen- 

 ter of the diamond a few years longer. 

 While the rectangular system seems to be 

 better suited to filler planting, the hexa- 



gonal method undoubtedly gives the best 

 distribution of the trees after the fillers 

 are eventually removed. 



Setting the Stakes 



The determination of the correct posi- 

 tion of the trees is often one of the most 

 difficult tasks in connection with the start- 

 ing of young orchards. The problem is 

 a more serious one when large areas are 

 considered and when the location selected 

 is on irregular and uneven land. For con- 

 venience in cultivation, and also for the 

 sake of appearance, the trees should be 

 set in such a way that they will be in 

 line in all directions. With this in mind 

 it is usually advisable to indicate the po- 

 sition of each tree by a stake, and to lay 

 out the whole field before setting the trees. 



In square or rectangular fields the 

 stakes for a row of trees on all sides of 

 the orchards may be set by measuring 

 the distance into spaces of the required 

 length ; for example, if the trees are to 

 be set 40 feet apart each way on the square 

 method, the stakes are placed every 40 

 feet on all sides of the field. The posi- 

 tion of the intervening trees may be 

 readily determined by sighting between 

 the stakes on the opposite sides. On small 

 areas the land may be marked off with 

 a line connecting the opposite stakes, in 

 both directions. The point of intersec- 

 tion of these lines indicates the position 



