218 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



shelter in a few years are the Scotch fir, Austrian and 

 Corsican pines. Excellent trees to mix alternately with 

 the foregoing are the mountain ash, Huntingdon and 

 Cornish elms, birch, Lombardy and balsam poplars, and 

 the beech. Plant 5ft. apart in the first instance, and 

 afterwards gradually thin out as the branches meet, 

 finally leaving the evergreens mainly to form the per- 

 manent shelter. Where the exposure is not very serious 

 a row of Damson trees will form an adequate shelter. 



Sites for Planting. Directions have been given for 

 preparing these in the ordinary way. Where, however, 

 the orchard or plantation is an extensive one, and the 

 soil is difficult to deal with, the best plan is to adopt the 

 .modern idea of forming them by using explosives. For 

 example, make a hole 3ft. to 4ft. deep in the centre of 

 the site, and then put in a charge of 6 to 1202. of Curtis 

 and Harvey's " Gelignite," or 7 to 1202. of their " Ched- 

 dite," attached to a safety fuse or to an electric shot-firing 

 battery. On the charge being exploded, the soil will be 

 broken up to a good depth and width, and the only thing 

 necessary twenty-four hours later will be to shovel out the 

 loose soil and plant the tree. This modern method, which 

 is invented by Curtis and Harvey, Cannon Street House, 

 Cannon Street, London, E.C. , enables the sites for each 

 tree to be more quickly and thoroughly prepared than is 

 possible in the ordinary way. We advise those con- 

 templating planting fruit trees to a large extent to write 

 Messrs. Curtis and Harvey for detailed instructions. 



Drainage. Land that is at all damp should be tho- 

 roughly drained before planting is attempted. To ascer- 

 tain if drainage is necessary, dig test holes 3ft. deep in 

 various parts of the field. If water quickly collects in 

 these the land needs draining. The drains should be put 

 in 3ft. deep and i5ft. apart. The branch drain-pipes 

 should be 2^in. in diameter, and these be connected to a 

 3in. main drain. Very damp land would be better drained 



