12 LAYING OUT AND PLANTING. 



may be adopted, one thing must be constantly kept in mind, i. e., 

 that we cannot expect satisfactory results unless there is an abund- 

 ance of proper plant food and moisture in the soil in condition to be 

 taken up by the roots of the trees. 



DISTANCE FOR PLANTING. Trees of medium size, like the 

 Early Harvest, Garden Royal, Fameuse, etc., should be planted 

 thirty by thirty feet. Those that are kept in a close, compact form 

 by heading-in may also be set the same distance. The larger kinds, 

 like the Baldwin, Gravenstein, etc., if allowed to spread to full 

 size, should be planted thirty-five by forty, or forty by forty 

 feet. 



LAYING OUT THE ORCHARD. In planting an orchard, whether 

 it is to be cultivated or not, it is advisable to have the 

 rows straight and the trees at equal distances apart; not only for 

 beauty, but for convenience in getting about among them. Perhaps 

 the best way to do this is to use a long, hard-twisted cord or wire 

 with marks at proper intervals upon it. The wire is much the 

 best as it is not affected by wet or dryness, and will not stretch. 

 This line should be stretched along two opposite sides and stakes 

 driven at the marks upon it. Then stretch it from the opposite 

 stakes, putting stakes at every mark, and it will be found that all 

 are in line from every point of observation. 



To lay out an orchard so that the stakes shall all be exactly in 

 line is a very simple matter, but to plant the trees so they shall 

 be equally true, is almost an impossibility, without the aid of 

 something besides the eye. Two methods are sometimes adopted: 

 The first, by using the same wire employed for staking out; and 

 second, by what is known as the planting board. The objection 

 to the first is, that it is in the way of the workmen in planting and 

 is liable to be moved to one side or the other by only slight 

 pressure. 



THE PLANTING BOARD, however, is free from the above objec- 

 tions, and is illustrated by |^ n f ^^ 

 Fig. 12. It consists of a 



narrow board about four Fig. 12. 



feet long, with a notch in the centre and one equally distant from 

 this at each end. Before digging the holes, this board is placed 

 with the centre notch against the stake and held firmly, while 

 the stake is pulled up and put in the notch at one end, and 

 another stake at the notch in the other end. The board can now 

 be taken away and the hole dug, taking care not to disturb the 

 two stakes. 



DIGGING THE HOLES. If many trees are to be planted, it is 

 best to dig as many holes during the middle of the day as can be 

 filled with trees during the last two hours of the afternoon and 

 the first two hours of the morning, as the roots will be much less 

 liable to injury than if planted in the hot sun in the middle of the 

 day. If the land is to be cultivated, the holes need be only large 

 enough to allow the spreading of all of the roots in their natural 



