CHAPTER XVII 

 CULTURE OF FRUITS AND NUTS 



FRUIT and nut farming have in recent years enjoyed a 

 remarkable growth. The home fruit garden is coming 

 to be considered no less important than the vegetable gar- 

 den, and large commercial orchards are now an important 

 factor on many of the reclamation projects of the semi-arid 

 regions of the West and Southwest. Millions of acres of 

 land in all parts of the United States, especially in the 

 South and in the dry regions are yet available for the fruit 

 and nut industry. The use of fruits and nuts as a part of 

 the daily food supply is also rapidly extending to include 

 almost every family in both this country and Europe. 



1. The Home Fruit Garden 



The home fruit garden, like the vegetable garden, should 

 be planned for cultivation by means of horses. The rows 

 should therefore run the long way of the garden. The 

 fruit garden may well join the vegetable garden, and be 

 approximately the same size, about ninety by two hundred 

 and forty feet for a farm garden. The entire plat will 

 then contain approximately one acre of ground. 



All fruit trees should be treated with a dormant spray, 

 applied at some time during the dormant season. A sec- 

 ond spraying should "be applied just after the leaf buds 

 burst, and a third at blossoming time. Apples should be 

 sprayed just as the petals fall, and pears just before the 

 blossoms open. It is fully as important to spray at the 



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