ROBBING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



the winter season and have the shipment on arrival 

 there placed in cold storage until the opening of the 

 planting season. 



PREPARING TREES FOR PLANTING 

 Just immediately before planting be sure to examine 

 the roots carefully, and cut away to a smooth surface 

 all bruised, lacerated and broken roots and rootlets 

 with a sharp knife or pruning shear. The cut on the 

 larger roots should be sloping and made on the lower 

 side of the root. The tree can now be said to be ready 

 for its permanent orchard home. 



If planting is delayed through circumstances beyond 

 the control of the orchardist and a warm spell should 

 intervene in February or March, causing the buds of 

 the trees or vines to start, remove them from the 

 trenches, shake out all the dirt from the roots and ex- 

 pose them for two hours in the early morning on a calm 

 day to the rays of the sun. This will cause the small, 

 white rootlets which have started, to dry up, and if the 

 trees are heeled in (wetting them down, of course), in a 

 shady place their dormancy may be prolonged several 

 weeks. 



HOW TO PLANT 



Planting System. There are a number of methods 

 of planting an orchard, but vineyards are usually set in 

 the square system. In order to eliminate much of the 

 confusion that seems to exist in the mind of the planter 

 when deviating from the rectangular or square system, 

 we are submitting plans drawn to a scale and are out- 

 lining under each one of them the plan of procedure. 

 It is very important in laying off the ground to have 

 straight lines, not only for the purpose of retaining sym- 

 metry in the orchard but also for the many other ad- 

 vantages in cultivating, irrigating, etc. 



Explanation of Diagrams. The planting distances 

 are represented by the figure 1, all other related dis- 

 tances by multiple parts of 1, so that any desired dis- 

 tance on any of the diagrams may be obtained by the 

 simple process of multiplying the desired distance by 

 the distance indicated on diagram. 



Square System. One of the advantages of this sys- 

 tem is that it permits cultivation in both ways, espe- 

 cially when the trees become larger. The trees are not 

 equally distributed over the ground, however. 



The first step to be taken in this and the following 

 plans is to have the base lines at right angles. In 

 planting a large place, these lines should be obtained by 

 a transit. By studying the plans and observing the 

 directions herewith given, the method of procedure is 

 readily understood. 



SQUARE PLANTING 



Rule: Square Method. Multiply the distance in 

 feet between the rows by the distance the plants are 

 apart in the rows, and the product will be the number 

 of square feet for each plant or hill; which, divided into 

 the number of feet in an acre (43,560), will give the num- 

 ber of plants or trees to an acre. 



Lay off the base lines A B and A C along two sides of 

 the planting field in such a manner that the angle at A 



is an exact right angle (90 degrees), and set stakes on 

 said base lines the desired distance apart. Care must 

 be exercised to have all stakes on true lines. 



A right angle can be formed in the field by the fol- 

 lowing method : 



Lay off 30 feet from A along base line A B on the dia- 

 gram; then a point on base line A C will be 40 feet from 

 A and 50 feet from the other end of the 30-foot length. 



After setting the stakes along the base lines at plant- 

 ing distance apart, the next step should be to set stakes 

 along secondary lines drawn parallel with base line 

 A B, and such distances therefrom as will be multiples 

 of the planting distance required, and at the same time 

 no further apart than permitted by the length of the 

 planting chain. This should preferably be of stranded 

 wire No. 19 gauge and provided with numbered metal 

 tags designed to be inserted at desired distances apart. 



Experience has demonstrated that a 250-foot chain 

 is the most serviceable. The chain should be stretched 

 for several days before using to prevent too much varia- 

 tion in the field. 



The chain should be provided with a ring and about 

 two feet of surplus length of wire on each end for easy 

 manipulation and stretching. Iron stake pins should 

 be used to hold the chain in position. To do this prop- 

 erly it is advisable to lay off a temporary base line B D 

 from end B of base line A B and at right angles thereto, 

 setting flags on such temporary base lines at distances 

 to correspond with the spacing of the secondary lines. 



With the flags as a guide, lay off the planting stakes 

 on the secondary lines, starting always from base line 

 A C. Then all that is required to complete the staking 

 will be to stretch the chain between similar points on 

 the secondary lines and set the stakes at each tag on 

 the chain previously adjusted. 



Quincunx System. The 'only advantage in this 

 method of planting is in connection with using a filler 

 temporarily, to be dug up as soon as there is any indi- 

 cation of crowding. This permits of double the amount 

 of trees to the acre than in the square system. 



