138 NUT GROWING 



out as rapidly as they are encroached upon by the 

 monarchs. The pang of cutting out a small tree is 

 less in degree than the misery going with the felling 

 of trees of larger kinds which have been set too 

 near together. The idea of removing every alternate 

 grafted nut tree at a time when the whole orchard 

 is gloriously smart is something belonging to the 

 horrors of history. On the other hand, a series of 

 small annual pangs like the removal of hazels is 

 easily borne. One of the author's friends whose 

 trees had been planted too near together remarked 

 that he had tried to bring himself to the point of 

 cutting out every alternate one. His courage had 

 failed him for six years in succession. Being an 

 orchardist, he was a good man with no enemies who 

 could be called in to do the cutting. The only hope 

 left was that he himself might die soon. 



Blackberry, raspberry, currant, and gooseberry 

 bushes are sometimes employed for intercropping 

 purposes, but if one were to have twenty acres of 

 that sort of planting he would suddenly find himself 

 possessed of a whole lot of berries. When large 

 acreage has been devoted to nut trees the choice for 

 intercrops will probably turn toward the idea of 

 employing species of nut trees which do not grow 

 large or else of putting the spare ground into legu- 

 minous plants which collect nitrogen from the air. 

 Their roots enrich the ground, and if the tops are 

 plowed under from time to time poor soil may be 

 made fertile without the addition of manure or of 

 chemicals. Some of the nitrogen collectors, like 



