LOCATING THE ORCHARD 15 



that in many cases it passed directly through 

 a tree, leaving bloom in the top branches and 

 none near the ground. 



On another year the apple crop below a cer- 

 tain line was imaginary, while the trees 

 on top of the ridge were laden to the breaking 

 point. The actual elevation above sea level is 

 of minor importance compared with the eleva- 

 tion above the surrounding country. The im- 

 portant thing to remember in regard to frost 

 drainage or air drainage, is that the orchard 

 must be higher than the surrounding land — the 

 higher, the better. 



The direction of the slope is not of so much 

 importance as was at one time supposed. For- 

 merly we were advised to select north slopes 

 for orchards because it was thought that the 

 north slope remained cold in spring longer and 

 thus delayed the period of bloom until after 

 the danger from frost. As a matter of fact the 

 soil in north slopes does remain cold longer, 

 snow clings to the north slopes after it has all 

 vanished from the more exposed locations, but 

 this has absolutely nothing to do with the time 

 of blooming. The ground may remain frozen 

 hard, but if the air could be warmed to the 

 right temperature the tree would bloom just 

 the same. In our orchards we have slopes in 

 every direction and after years of observation 

 I can not say that I have ever noticed the slight- 



