APPLES 



163 



2. To determine the number of trees 

 required per acre for rectangular method. 

 Divide the number of square feet per acre 

 by the product of the two sides. 



3. To determine the number of trees 

 required per acre for triangular or hexa- 

 gonal method. Find the number of trees 

 for the square method (same distance) 

 and divide this number by the decimal 

 number .866. 



4. To find the width of alleys in trian- 

 gular (equilateral) planting. Divide the 

 distance between trees or side of triangle 

 by the decimal number .866. 



5. In triangular planting where fillers 

 are located at center of triangle, the dis- 

 tance between permanent trees may be 

 found by multiplying the original distance 

 by the number 1.732. 



6. In quincunx planting to find dis- 

 tance between permanent trees after thin- 

 ning multiply the original distance by 

 1.42. 



7. To determine the number of trees 

 removed by thinning in quincunx plant- 

 ing multiply original number by one- 

 half: in square plantings and triangular 

 planting filled both directions in the row 

 multiply original number by three- 

 fourths; equilateral triangular planting 

 filled in center of permanent triangles 

 multiply the original number by two- 

 thirds. 



H. L. Price, 

 Viiffinia Polytechnic School, Blacksburc. Xn. 



Trees Generally Too Close 



The consensus of opinion is, that gen- 

 erally trees are planted too close to- 

 gether. Those who have given this sub- 

 ject much thought are pretty well agreed 

 that the proper distance for large trees 

 of 20 or 30 years of age is about two rods 

 or 33 feet. In some parts of the country 

 trees are of much slower growth than in 

 others. It probably takes a tree twice as 

 long to reach a given size in the north- 

 eastern part of the United States as it 

 does farther south and on the Pacific 

 Coast. Thirty-three feet apart allows for 

 40 trees per acre. The principal objec- 

 tion to this plan is that it is almost a 

 generation before the trees will need all 

 of the space that is given to them if 



there are only 40 trees to the acre, and 

 in the meantime there is much land and 

 labor wasted that might in some way be 

 utilized to considerable advantage. With 

 this in view the plan of planting "fillers" 

 between the rows and cross rows has 

 been adopted, so that instead of having 

 40 trees per acre there are 160 trees per 

 acre, and instead of being two rods a])art 

 they are one rod apart. 



The purpose is to cut out these fillers 

 at some period during the growth of the 

 trees when they begin to crowd each other. 



Kinds of Fillers to Use 



If this plan is adopted the question is 

 What kinds and varieties of fruits shall 

 be used as fillers, with the object of sac- 

 rificing them when the permanent trees 

 require the room? Very often peaches 

 are selected, because the peach tree is a 

 rapid grower and early bearer; it is also 

 a short-lived tree and will in some cases 

 have passed its highest usefulness be- 

 fore the apple trees need the ground. 



The pear is more nearly related to the 

 apple than the peach, and needs more 

 nearly the same treatment, requires the 

 same spraying and can be grown in apple 

 orchards without any particular incon- 

 venience. However, it is not so vigorous 

 a grower as the peach and will not yield 

 as large returns for the first few years. 



Some will plant Wagener apples as 

 fillers, because they bear heavily, bear 

 early and trees are shaped much like the 

 pear. Others will plant small fruits, such 

 as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, 

 etc., because they can be so pruned as 

 not to interfere with spraying or cultiva- 

 tion. Some discard fillers and raise veg- 

 etables. If this method is adopted, the 

 land should generally be mulched or ma- 

 nured in order to put back into the soil 

 the substances taken out by the crops. 



It has been argued by Van Reman and 

 Deman and others that the best method 

 is to plant nothing but apple trees in an 

 apple orchard, plant them 20 feet apart, 

 and when they begin to crowd each other 

 cut them out diagonally. 



Thus we have a variety of opinions, 

 each possessing some merit, and each the 



