ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. i45 



the trees would die, but they came out of it all right after a 

 time. I was unable to trace any cause for it. That particular 

 section of the orchard where it appeared was lower than the 

 rest, and there was some considerable moisture there, and there 

 was somewhat of a frost in the spring. It seemed to be a 

 weather condition, but I do not know as it was due to that. No 

 one has. been able to trace the cause of it. 



The President : While the Committee on Nominations are 

 deliberating we will take up question No. 4: "What are the 

 respective advantages of close and wide apart orchard plant- 

 ing?" I believe Mr. George H. Hale of South Glastonbury is 

 to give us something on that. 



Mr. George H. Hale : Mr. President and Gentlemen — I shall 

 talk more on the close planting of trees than on wide planting. 

 Although I now believe in wide planting, I have practiced to 

 quite an extent for twenty years the close setting of trees. In 

 1879 my brother and myself planted an acre of peach trees 

 fifteen feet apart. In 1880 we planted eight acres, and in 1881 

 some twenty acres, all of wdiich w^ere set fifteen feet apart each 

 w'ay. That gave two hundred trees per acre. Our first crop 

 of peaches was produced the fourth year when we received 

 about a basket per tree. Our first crop netted us 56 cents a 

 basket. Now if we can get one basket per tree, on two hun- 

 dred trees to the acre, and set fifteen feet apart, as ours were, 

 if we can set them thirteen feet apart it wall give us two hun- 

 dred and fifty trees to the acre, which means two hundred 

 and fifty baskets per acre. Or, in other words, if we are getting 

 $1.50 a basket, it is $75 an acre more, and money is what we 

 are after. We planted no more trees until 1890, and then we 

 planted about twenty-five acres at thirteen feet apart, which 

 gave us two hundred and fifty to the acre. In 1891 W'e planted 

 ten acres at thirteen feet, and in 1893 twenty-five acres at 

 thirteen feet apart, and they all produced good results at thir- 

 teen feet apart each way, and we thought at that time that 

 that might be considered as a sort of a standard distance for 

 setting, but this last year, when it came to 1901 (we dissolved 

 partnership in 1896), I had a large number of trees which 

 almost covered the whole ground when set at that distance, 

 and I said that the next time I would plant them as far apart 

 as twenty feet. It does not pay in the long run to set them 

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