380 DRY LAND FARMING 



is followed, as a rule, when planting the apple trees of 

 the East, which grow so much larger. Where the rain- 

 fall is more than 15 inches per year the trees may be 

 planted closer, as close, probably, as 30 feet. For a 

 time, crops that call for cultivation during the period of 

 growth may be grown between the trees, but these 

 should not come near to the tree, lest they draw upon 

 the moisture that it should have. 



Medium fruits, as plums, prunes and cherries, may 

 be planted in squares 20 feet apart. This will give ample 

 room for proper cultivation and gathering the fruit. The 

 practise is sometimes followed of planting these inter- 

 mediate fruits midway between the apple trees in the 

 line of the row, when the latter are planted far apart. 

 Where irrigating water can be applied, the practise has 

 merit, as the trees thus planted intermediate may be re- 

 moved when they begin to encroach on the needs of the 

 larger trees, but they should not be planted thus in 

 areas of scant rainfall without good reasons for the 

 step. Under such conditions every facility should be 

 given for the proper cultivating of the trees by driving 

 in several directions. 



Small fruits, as currants and gooseberries, when 

 grown in such areas, should b,e not less than 8 to 10 feet 

 apart each way. This will insure room to give them the 

 cultivation which they need. They are one of the surest 

 fruit crops that can be grown in dry areas. Strawberries 

 may have from 6 to 8 feet between the rows. If grown 

 on the matted row plan the runners should not be al- 

 lowed to root indiscriminately, as the plants will then 

 become too numerous for the moisture. 



Of the large and intermediate fruits only young 

 trees should be planted, not older probably than one to 

 two years. This reduces the percentage of the trees 

 that may fail to grow, and it gives the grower the op- 

 portunity to head them low, which is of great advantage 



