TREATMENT OB" YOUNG ORCHARD 



115 



acres from Friday noon to Wednesday night, placing the stakes, 

 digging the holes, and planting the trees. This would be almost 

 three-quarters of an acre per day per man. In planting peaches 

 and apricots an average of one hundred trees per day to the man 

 has been attained. On the mellow loam, in another case, the aver- 

 age was one hundred and twenty-five trees to the man, digging holes 

 two feet square in land which had been plowed twelve inches deep. 

 Such work is only possible on good soil, well prepared, and by men 

 who work well together. 



Mapping and Labeling. Where mixed varieties of fruit are 

 planted, the orchard should be mapped as soon as the trees are set. 

 A good durable map is made of the glazed muslin, such as carpenters 

 and architects use for their drawings. The map can easily be drawn 

 to a scale by using a fraction of an inch to represent a foot. After 

 the map is made, it can be rolled on a broom stick and easily pre- 

 served. With such a record, the grower need not care what becomes 

 of the labels, as he can locate a variety any time by its row and tree 

 number. If, however, one desires labels, let them be made in this 

 way: Take a piece of common sheet zinc five inches wide. ' Across 

 this, cut pieces three-quarters of an inch wide at one end and taper- 

 ing to a point at the other. Near the wider end write plainly with a 

 common lead-pencil the name of the variety. This will get brighter 

 by exposure to the weather. The small end may be coiled around 

 the branch of the tree ; it will yield as the tree grows and will do 

 no injury. Such labels will last for a long time. Labels attached 

 by a cord or wire should be removed as soon as the trees are set, for 

 they are apt to be forgotten and the tree seriously injured by the 

 cutting in of the ligature. Even when labels are used the map is 

 the only surety, because any kind of a label is apt to be lost by acci- 

 dent or through malice or mischief of intruders. 



Mulching. Although early-planted trees on deep soils in regions 

 of sufficient rainfall need only good cultivation, after planting, there 

 are cases in which mulching is desirable. Various light materials 

 may be used for a mulch, but nothing is better than well-rotted 

 straw, in which fermentation has killed all weed seed. Apply it to 

 a distance of two feet around the tree, and to a depth of not less than 

 six inches. It is best done as soon as the tree is planted, and is to 

 be especially recommended when late planting is practiced. Even 

 in localities of light rainfall, if the trees are well mulched early in 

 the winter, irrigation may be unnecessary for the young deciduous 

 tree. Trees planted very late in the spring may, by using great 

 care and mulching well, make as great a growth as those set out 

 early in winter. This should not be an excuse for late planting, but 

 where late planting is necessary, mulching will help the trees to pull 

 through. It is a far easier way of keeping the ground moist than by 

 irrigating, but is not a substitute for it where systematic irrigation 



