178 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Close Plaiitine and Quality of Frnit 



Close planting results in an abundant 

 supply of apple scab and other troubles, 

 by bringing about a dense growth and 

 excluding sunshine and ventilation. Any 

 cultural method which tends to secure 

 good ventilation, a dry atmosphere, and 

 an abundance of sunshine does much to- 

 wards holding these foes in check. The 

 spray jjump has come to stay and is a 

 valuable tool, yet prevention is always 

 better than cure. 



Close planting gives protection when 

 the trees are young. A better plan is to 

 provide protection by a windbreak and 

 low headed trees. 



Color in fruit is almost as important as 

 quality. The absolute necessltj' of an 

 abundance of sunshine for the develop- 

 ment of highly colored fruit is an axiom. 

 Every boy is conversant with the fact 

 that the most highly colored apples are 

 to be found on the long outer twigs which 

 have an advantage over their fellows in 

 the amount of sunshine they receive. Too 

 many of our fruit plantations repi-esent 

 forest rather than orchard conditions. On 

 account of over-planting the tops Interlap, 

 resulting in a heavy shade and a moist 

 atmosphere, and making high coloring in 

 fruit an impossibility. 



In the case of the apple, the color is 

 more than skin deep. Color forma- 

 tion is accompanied by the flesh develop- 

 ment within. In recent cold storage ex- 

 periments conducted at the Ohio Experi- 

 ment Station it was clearly demon- 

 strated that, other things being equal, 

 highly colored fruit has an advantage in 

 keeping qualit.v. There is also a direct 

 relationship between the color and the 

 percentage of scald. 



P. H. B.\LL0U, 

 Wonster. Ohin. 



PROBABLE LOSS OF TBEES FROM 

 PL.VMIXG 



The questions sometimes arise, "What 

 is the probable loss in setting young 

 trees? What per cent will fail to grow?" 



This depends so much upon the nature 

 of the conditions and the manner of do- 

 ing the work that it is difficult to esti- 

 mate. The writer was interested in an 



orchard of 80 acres on which there were 

 planted 3,500 trees, or an average of 471-4 

 trees per acre. The next spring we re- 

 placed 33 trees, making two less than one 

 per cent of loss. The next spring we set 

 20 acres and 990 trees. They were set in 

 newly-plowed alfalfa soil, the land not 

 quite so well leveled, making it a little 

 more difficult to irrigate, and as a result 

 it was not so well watered and we had to 

 replant 36 trees or nearly four per cent. 

 We have known 25 per cent of the trees 

 planted to die, and in a few extreme cases 

 nearly all of them have died. This, how- 

 ever, is almost wholl.v on account of ne- 

 glect, and is preventable. It is not neces- 

 sary to lose one per cent, provided care 

 is exercised in the selection of good stock, 

 the roots kept moist, the ground properly 

 prepared, and the planting well done. 



Gra>'ville Lowtheb 



MIXDBREAKS 

 roliimhia River Valley 



While objections are often made to the 

 use of windbreaks they are very advan- 

 tageous wherever orchards, vineyards, 

 small fruits, or truck crops are exposed to 

 strong winds. Especially is this true 

 where the soil is sandy and subject to 

 drifting. Since the prevailing winds are 

 from the west and southwest, the princi- 

 pal windbreaks should extend north and 

 south or approximately at right angles 

 to the direction of the wind. 



Some of the more important points to 

 be remembered in the selection of trees 

 for windbreaks are the following: Effec- 



■v\ 



Fig. 1. Windbreak Greatly Needed. Only by 

 the most .ludicious pruning can these trees 

 be balanced, and then only with srreat diffi- 

 culty. Stakinff -would have helped many of 

 these trees. — Oregon Experiment Station. 



