APPLES 



173 



Fig. 2. "Where Winds Are Strong. Lean the 

 Tree Towards the Prevailing Wind. 



Many trees that have been set on orchard 

 sites exposed to the prevailing winds il- 

 lustrate the need of using this precau- 

 tionary measure, for where they were 

 set straight they are now found to lean 

 greatly away from the wind. 



J. R. Shinn. 

 Moscow. Idaho. 



Koot PrnnJng 



In digging the tree at the nursery all 

 of the roots are cut off considerably. 

 Many of those that remain are more or 

 less bruised. At the time of transplanting 

 all of these bruised roots must be cut 

 off. In placing the tree in the hole it 

 usually advised that the roots be spread 

 out flat. Then put some soil in and raise 

 the tree a little. In humid sections where 

 Irrigation is not practiced it is advisable 

 to pack the soil very thoroughly around 

 the roots. In our irrigated regions we 

 do not consider this so very necessary for 

 the reason that immediately after the 

 trees are transplanted they are irrigated. 

 If there are any air spaces left between 

 the soil and the roots the irrigation water 

 will pack the soil around the roots. 



To meet the loss of roots due to trans- 

 planting the tree it is necessary to re- 

 move part of its top. The amount to be 

 cut depends on how high we wish to start 



the scaffold limbs. This must be decided 

 by the grower himself. As a rule for 

 New Mexico conditions we recommend low 

 headed trees. For such trees the scaf- 

 fold limbs ought to start out about 12 

 to IS inches from the ground. Do not 

 neglect cutting back all newly trans- 

 planted trees. 



F.\BI.\N G-\RCI.\, 

 Santa Fe. N. M. 



Sbade the Trnnk 



Most nursery trees are grown close to- 

 gether, some six to eight inches apart in 

 the rows. The tendency is to produce slen- 

 der stems, and unbalanced tops. The 

 nurseryman is forced to produce his trees 

 as cheaply as possible. Aside from the 

 result of crowding mentioned, the trees 

 shade the trunks of their neighbors con- 

 siderably. The tendency is to cause a 

 softer and more tender growth. The sud- 

 den exposure when such trees are planted 

 out singly for the orchard must be trying 

 to the tree. This is one reason why the 

 trunks of newly set orchard trees should 

 have their stems protected immediately 

 by the strips of wood veneer now much 

 used. These may be had of all basket 

 factories at about $4.50 to $6 per 1,000. 

 They should be wired on loosely and left 

 till they rot off. When the tree gets large 

 its own branches will shade the trunk, 

 and they will then be inured to their new 

 position. There is some advantage, it 

 will be seen, in one-year trees, since they 

 have suffered less iy shading and crowd- 

 ing each other in the nursery roiv, be- 

 sides being cheaper and coming out with 

 less mutilation of the root system. Young 

 trees are commonly considered preferable 

 because in digging there is less mutila- 

 tion of the roots. The writer is convinced 

 that the point above suggested is quite 

 as important, if not more so. It seems 

 hitherto to have escaped the attention of 

 writers dealing with this subject. In 

 setting the trees all mutilated roots 

 should be cut off smoothly by a cut from 

 below outward. If the ground has been 

 properly prepared, the hole need be only 

 sufficient to receive the roots in a natural 

 position, placing the tree as a rule as 

 deep as it stood in the nursery. Few 



