CHAPTER III 

 PREPARATION OF LAND FOR PLANTING 



A STUDY of the preceding chapter has at least suggested 

 to the reader that there is variation in types of soil found 

 in our Western mountainous regions; and in presenting a 

 chapter on the preparation of the land for planting it must 

 be realized that it is impossible to lay down a set of rules 

 that will fit all cases. That the formation of the soil 

 varies is not so surprising as that it varies in unexpectedly 

 small areas, a condition of affairs that is not so commonly 

 met on the plains. The foregoing chapter has suggested 

 important points to be observed in choosing land for or- 

 chard purposes; if in this chapter we mention methods of 

 handling types of soil that are there classed as undesirable 

 for orchard purposes, it is not because we are divided in our 

 opinions; but we realize that in the eagerness to plant 

 orchards, some of the warnings of the previous chapter will 

 be disregarded, and suggestions on handling all types of 

 land will be timely. 



The type of soil will, in a way, dictate the course to be 

 pursued in preparing it for the young orchard; but there 

 is one maxim that will hold good in all cases, and that is, 

 "what is worth doing at all is worth doing well." Too 

 often the orchard is marked for life by being planted on 

 land improperly prepared; as improperly leveled or plowed, 

 or, as sometimes occurs, plowed only where the tree rows 



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