ii8 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



mass of roots are determined by tillage, character of soil, 

 water supply and food supply, a great deal more than by 

 the "nature" of the trees themselves. Shallow rooting and 

 deep rooting are, in fact, determined by the soil, and not by 

 the character of the tree. 



It is a common but very erroneous belief among many 

 orchardists, that the spread of the roots of a tree is about 

 the same as that of the tops. But all the observations thus 

 far made go to show that, ordinarily, the roots far outspread 

 the tops. Thus Bailey, in i8g8, dug out two roots of a 

 Howell standard pear tree, set in 1889, on a hard clay knoll. 

 The full spread of the tree was 7 feet ; but the roots ran 21 

 feet in one direction on their hunt for plant-food. If they 

 ran as far on the other side, here is a spread of 42 feet, or 

 six times the spread of the top. Even at their shallowest 

 point, they were 8 inches below the surface, out of the reach 

 of the plow, while at a distance of 21 feet they were only 25^ 

 feet down. In a rich, well-tilled soil, and set in the same 

 year as the other, a Fall Orange apple spread its roots 8 

 feet on each side of the tree, while the branches spread but 

 4 feet on each side. Its roots, too, were below the reach 

 of the plow. The soil about these trees had been well 

 tilled. But another tree growing on sod land was found to 

 have its roots close under the surface, where tillage would 

 destroy them, where drought would kill them, and where 

 they had to fight for their food with lusty grass roots. 



These facts, with a multitude of other observations, show 

 clearly that, by our orchard management, begun before the 

 trees are set, and continued without any intermission, we 

 can put the main mass of the roots where we want them, 

 and keep them there; also that, under ordinarj' conditions, 

 the whole soil of an orchard is full of roots, and that ferti- 

 lizers sown broadcast will as certainly, probably more cer- 

 tainly, be quickly available to the trees than if spread only 

 under each particular tree. 



Another thing worth remembering is that the roots of 

 any plant will search for food as well as for air and water. 

 If you set a plant in a tub or pot of rather poor soil, the roots 

 will spread pretty evenly through it. If you enrich the soil 

 with some fertilizer well mixed all through it, the spread of 



