EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 37 



last season and are in fine condition. And this in spite of 

 the fact that our land was badly run down. 



We use the Filler system, planting standard trees 33 feet 

 apart each way, and interplanting both ways, which brings 

 the trees down to sixteen and a half feet apart. We plant sol- 

 id blocks of apple or peach trees, for the most part, whatever 

 kind of fruit we are setting. 



We buy one-year-old apple trees when we can get them. 

 Last year we had to take a few Hubbardston two-year-olds, 

 but as we head our trees 18 inches from the ground we much 

 prefer one-year-old stock, as we find we get 'a better and more 

 symmetrical growth from the year-old trees. I should prefer 

 one-year trees for any height of head, but for our low heads 

 they are almost essential. 



Question : Do you let them branch near the ground ? 



Prof. Sears : Yes. We expect to do some hand work 

 around them, and there is not much more of such work with 

 low heads than with high ones. We have five hundred peach 

 trees 12 inches from the ground and they made the . best 

 growth of any trees that we set last year. 



There are two more points which I wish to mention as 

 elements in any successful scheme of orcharding. One is the 

 disposition we make of our number two apples, and the other 

 in packing. We are bound to have some number two's, and 

 probably some number threes. The tw^os may, perhaps, be 

 disposed of as fresh fruit, if they are as carefully graded and 

 handled as our number ones, but the threes must be dried, 

 used for cider or sent across the water to be used as cham- 

 pagne, or else thrown on the dimip. They should never go 

 to the market in a fresh state. 



The last is the question of packing. 



Here, I believe, is wdiere the Western growers have us 

 beaten w'orse than anywhere else. We grow less good fruit 

 than they, it is true, and then much of what we do grow we 

 ruin in packing. 



