164 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



best adapted to some persons under some 

 circumstances. 



See Article on "Intercropping." 



Gr.^kville Lowthee 



Plan and Pollination 



For convenience in liarvesting it seems 

 desirable to plant trees of the same vari- 

 eties near together, but on account of 

 many varieties being self-sterile it is not 

 advisable to plant more than two or three 

 rows of a single variety in one block. A 

 self-sterile variety is one whose pollen 

 will not properly fertilize the flowers of 

 the same variety. Trees whose blossoms 

 have not been properly fertilized usually 

 fail to set fruit, but sometimes produce 

 more or less fruit of a gnarly and worth- 

 less character. The pollen from a self- 

 sterile variety may be depended upon to 

 fertilize the blossoms of any other vari- 

 ety that blooms at the same time. It is 

 difllcult to say which varieties are self- 

 sterile and which are self-fertile, for the 

 subject has not yet been sufficiently in- 

 vestigated. There seems to be a differ- 

 ence of opinion among those who have 

 made a study of the subject, for some 

 claim that certain varieties are self-sterile 

 while others believe them to be self-fer- 

 tile. It is probable that a variety may 

 be self-sterile in one locality and self- 

 fertile in another. The varieties that are 

 generally recorded as self-sterile and that 

 should not be planted alone are: Red 

 Astrachan. Yellow Bellflower, Chenango, 

 Gravenstein, Maiden Blush, Tompkins 

 King, Primate, Rambo, Gano, Tolman, 

 Esopus Spitzenburg. York Imperial, Wine- 

 sap, Roxbury Russet, Golden Russet and 

 Northern Spy. The varieties that are 

 generally believed to be self-fertile are: 

 Oldenburg, Yellow Transparent, Falla- 

 water. Grimes, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, 

 Rhode Island Greening, and Baldwin. 

 These conclusions are the result of lim- 

 ited observations, and until more reliable 

 information is available, the best prac- 

 tice is to avoid large blocks of any single 

 variety and to plant varieties of the same 

 blooming period in adjoining rows. 



C. D. Jarvis, 



Storrs. Conn. 



Avoid Block Planting 



Varieties of fruit should not be planted 

 in orchards in large solid blocks. Some 

 of the most productive varieties are not 

 readily fertilized with their own pollen. 

 Such varieties would be unproductive un- 

 less situated so that their blossoms could 

 be pollinated by other varieties blooming 

 at the same time. Old orchards teach 

 their lessons along this line. A commer- 

 cial orchard under observation recently 

 consisted of tour varieties, in solid blocks, 

 in the following order: Baldwin, Golden 

 Russet, Roxbury Russet, and Spy. The 

 Baldwin is a self-fertilizing variety, and 

 whenever there was any fruit in the or- 

 chard it could always be found on the 

 Baldwins. The Golden Russets were laden 

 with fruit on alternate years. The Rox- 

 bury Russets were pretty generally pro- 

 ductive. The Spy block was uniformly 

 unproductive, except for a couple of rows 

 next the Russets, which bore well when- 

 ever the orchard bloomed. Many good 

 varieties of fruit are unproductive be- 

 cause they are so situated that their blos- 

 soms cannot be pollinated from neighbor- 

 ing varieties. Instead of planting vari- 

 eties in solid blocks they should be 

 planted in alternating rows. This may 

 make a little more trouble at packing 

 time, but there will almost invariably 

 be more to pack. 



W. N. HUTT, 

 Ralpiffh, N. r. 



SETTING THE TREES 

 Size of Holes 



The size of the hole in which to plant 

 the trees varies according to the soil and 

 root system of the trees to be planted. 

 We hear a great deal about digging large 

 holes for trees. On the whole it is not 

 necessary to dig large holes if the soil 

 has been properly prepared and it is a 

 good tree soil. For the average size 

 apple tree on good tree soil the holes 

 need not be more than 12 to 18 inches 

 square and about the same depth. If 

 the trees are to be planted in a soil that 

 is not a tree soil then the hole must be 

 made larger. If the soil is almost pure 

 sand or gravel the hole ought to be made 

 quite large and then partially filled with 



