APPLES 



399 



gated. Each orchard laborer has a spe- 

 cial tract on which he stays during the 

 season, and is held responsible for the 

 labor on that tract. 



On his trips the consulting horticul- 

 turist gives evening lectures to all the 

 men; the effort is to train them, to in- 

 spire them in the work and develop great- 

 er individual interest among them. 



riaiining: the Orchard 



When the company decides to make a 

 new planting, the soil is first selected and 

 examined very carefully. Both the sur- 

 face soil and subsoil are examined. Or- 

 chardists often overlook the subsoil e.xam- 

 ination but it is very important. The 

 tree does a great deal of work below the 

 surface and to get the best results must 

 have a congenial subsoil. 



The best commercial varieties are then 

 selected which are best suited to the alti- 

 tude, soil and other conditions. The vari- 

 eties are always arranged so as to secure 

 cross-pollinization. Honey bees being the 

 chief agents of cross-pollination, are kept 

 in the orchard as soon as the orchard 

 comes into bearing. 



The orchards are usually planted 30 

 feet on the square with a tree in the cen- 

 ter of the square. It will be seen that 

 the trees in the centers of the squares 

 make also an orchard 30 feet on the 

 square. In other words, we have a double 

 orchard each with its cross-pollination 

 varieties. All the trees stand for 11 or 

 12 years, and then the orchard of least 

 value is cut out. If we plant a variety 

 that is somewhat untried, we always 

 double It with a thoroughly proven vari- 

 ety. The reason is evident: if the ques- 

 tionable variety does not prove better 

 than the proven variety it can be grubbed 

 out at the end of 11 or 12 years, and the 

 permanent orchard not injured in the 

 least. This is a good way to handle ques- 

 tionable but promising varieties, such as 

 the Delicious and Stayman Winesap. 



This system of planting permits the 

 renewal of orchards, a very important 

 consideration for the orchardists of the 

 arid West. If it proves true, as many 

 predict, that most of our orchards will 



have passed the best bearing period at 

 the age of 35 or 40 years, it behooves us 

 to plan our orchards so that they can be 

 renewed at about that time if necessary. 

 By this system of planting, young trees 

 can be replanted in the centers of the 

 squares when the orchard is 25 or 30 

 years old and, when the young trees come 

 into bearing, the old ones can be cut out. 

 Our aim is to make the orcharding 

 permanent, and to this end we safeguard 

 ourselves in every possible way. 



Planting Two-Tear-Old Trees 



Whether to plant one or two-year-old 

 trees is a question on which there is a 

 difference of opinion. I will set down my 

 results and let the reader judge for him- 

 self. During the last two years we have 

 planted over 80,000 two-year-old trees, we 

 have averaged about a 95 per cent stand, 

 and the trees at the end of the second 

 year average better than the one-year-old 

 trees that have been three years in the 

 orchard. We have saved a year by plant- 

 ing the two-year-old stock. We get bet- 

 ter heads when planting the two-year-olds. 

 It is hard for a one-year-old tree, when 

 planted in the orchard, to make its root 

 connection with the soil and put out a 

 good head the first year. They usually 

 put out a weak head with poor crotches. 

 If the tree is allowed to stand in the 

 nursery another year, where it has its 

 root connections with the soil, it puts out 

 a good head with strong crotches and 

 leaders with the proper angle (about 45 

 degrees) from the trunk of the tree. If 

 the tree does not have a good head do 

 not plant it. This insures good heads on 

 the trees, a very important point, because 

 the whole tree structure is built on the 

 head, and more trees break down because 

 of weak heads than from any other cause. 



However, it is harder to grow the two- 

 year-old trees than the one-year-old trees. 

 If you are not going to give the two-year- 

 old trees the special care they require I 

 would advise you not to plant them. 



Pruning Young Trees 



The main thing here is to develop a per- 

 manent tree structure. If the tree is a 

 one-year-old and puts out a poor head, re- 



