]58 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



When a "filler" row is to be staked this 

 second loop is used and stakes or trees 

 are set by the marks on the wire (except 

 that the first one Is skipped). 



J. R. Shinn. 

 Moscow. Idatio. 



PLA\ A!VD DOUBLE PLANTING 



Double planting is desirable because it 

 enables us to make full use of the land 

 while the orchard is young. By converting 

 permanent squares into temporary quin- 

 cunxes we secure an ideal plan tor double 

 planting; thus by planting our filler at the 

 intersection of the diagonals of a 40-foot 

 square, we get five trees in the square 

 with the central tree standing about 2S 

 feet from the permanent trees. This is 

 an almost ideal distance for apple trees 

 for the first 10 or 15 years of their bear- 

 ing stage. This system of planting is not 

 confined to the apple, however, but may 

 be employed with other fruits as well. 

 The practice of mixing different kinds of 

 fruit trees in the same block is never ad- 

 visable; the filler should always be of 

 the same kind of fruit as the permanent 

 trees; it is usually a different and quicker 

 bearing variety. 



Septuple Planting 



In septuple planting the tree form equi- 

 lateral triangles. The chief claim made 

 for this method is that the trees are more 

 evenly distributed than by any other — 

 every tree being equidistant from the ad- 

 jacent member of its group. Moreover, 

 the trees in one row alternate with those 

 of the next, which is an advantage in es- 

 pecially windy locations. Although this 

 system does not lend itself readily to dou- 

 ble planting it does not prohibit it. Plate 

 I, Fig. 3, illustrates the different methods 

 of using fillers in connection with perma- 

 nent triangles. By introducing fillers in 

 different ways, quite a variety of distances 



may be secured. This also meets the con- 

 dition of the home orchard inasmuch as 

 we may approximate the ideal distances 

 for the different kinds of fruit grown 

 without modifying the general planting 

 plan. For example, if apples are planted 

 in permanent triangles, 40 feet apart, 

 then by planting an additional tree in the 

 center of each triangle we create a sys- 

 tem of smaller triangles with trees stand- 

 ing approximately 23 feet apart, which is 

 a very good distance for standard pears 

 and sweet cherries. For plums, peaches 

 and sour cherries, an additional tree may 

 be planted between the corner 40-foot 

 trees, thus converting the plan into tri- 

 angles with trees standing only 20 feet 

 apart ; or trees may be set in the center 

 of the 23-foot triangles, giving a distance 

 of approximately 13 feet between trees. 

 The 20-foot triangles reduce in the same 

 manner approximately 11 feet. Thus al- 

 most any distance can be secured through 

 these various methods of reducing the 

 triangle. 



Planting Plans 



Many orchards are planted in too hap- 

 hazard a way and without due regard to 

 plan or alignment. A little care in laying 

 out the rows will secure reasonably good 

 alignment and a result that will be a 

 source of gratification and pride to the 

 planter throughout the life of the orchard. 



Many individual plans have been advo- 

 cated from time to time, but these fall 

 readily into four systems of planting: 

 viz., rectangular, square, triangular and 

 irregular. The last system need not be 

 noticed here since it is very seldom if 

 ever justified. 



The comparative merits of these dif- 

 ferent systems is of no little importance. 

 On smooth and level land the preference 

 of the grower will prove the main factor 

 in deciding tipon a plan for the orchard. 



SliowiiiK [low Trianjjles May Be Ueduced. 



