112 BUSH-FBUITS 



PLANTING 



Before considering how to plant, the question of 

 when to plant should be decided. As already noted in 

 Chapter I., there are arguments in favor of both spring 

 and fall planting. In fact, if planted in late fall or 

 early spring, there is likely to be very little failure in 

 either case, provided the fall -set plants are protected 

 with a covering of soil or coarse manure during the 

 winter. For the great region of the Plains, which is 

 subject to winter as well as summer drought, fall plant- 

 ing is less likely to prove satisfactory than in moister 

 climates. There is much reason to believe that many 

 plants of all kinds perish in these regions from lack of 

 moisture during the winter months. In general, how- 

 ever, it may be safe to assume that fall planting is 

 preferable to late spring planting, and if circumstances 

 are known to be such that the work cannot be done in 

 proper season in the spring, it had better be done in the 

 fall ; if the work can be done at the right time, plant 

 in spring. 



It goes without saying that the first essential in 

 the operation of planting is to insure a proper and 

 thorough preparation of the soil, a matter which has 

 already been discussed. That done, the question must 

 be settled as to the manner of placing the plants 

 on the field, whether in closely set rows to culti- 

 vate only one way, or in check rows to cultivate both 

 ways. This will, of course, be decided by circum- 

 stances and the individual preferences of the grower. 

 Like many other questions, it is one on which there 



