21 



21. The next consideration is the laying out and locating 

 the places for the trees. A few words may be given as to the 

 surveying devices which go to make up correct laying-out. 

 The simple method of staking two corners and putting in a 

 few sticks for sighting scarcely needs description, A 

 correct line down one side of the area is thus obtained. 

 The difficulty is to lay off a true right-angle for the 

 breadth -measure. The simplest way of doing this is to 

 measure off 80 feet along the true side with a tape line 

 and stake the point obtained. Then from the starting 

 point measure along the other side 63 feet, drawing the 

 tape as nearly as possible at a right angle, judging by the 

 eye, and put in a mark. Now, if the angle so made is a true 

 right angle, you will find that the diagonal or cross-line 

 measure, from mark to mark and completing the triangle will 

 give you exactly 100 feet. If it is less, the 60-feet mark 

 has been taken too far in ; if it is more, then you have 

 splayed it too far out, and in either case correction must be 

 made until the 100-feet diagonal measures up correctly. 

 Having thus got your true corner, the lines can be con- 

 tinued by the common method of sighting with upright 

 sticks. Along the whole area parallel lines can be set out 

 with great accuracy by measuring off the same distance 

 along the two opposite sides, staking the points and putting 

 up sighting-sticks between them. Upon these lines, at 

 given distances, the tree-planting marks are to be placed. 

 In this work as in everything connected with measure- 

 ments, it is best to do the whole job at once without a 

 break. Doing the task of setting-out piecemeal invariably 

 leads to irregular and unsatisfactory results. 



22. The next point to be considered is one on which there 

 are almost as many opinions as there are planters. It is 

 the question of how many trees to put on an acre of ground, 

 or rather, how near may you plant fruit-trees and get a 

 good crop off them. The question however should not be 

 * ' How close can I stick my trees without being considered 

 mean to them ? " but rather " "What distance apart would 

 be best for their healthy growth?" The tendency is 

 naturally to put them far too near each other, because they 

 come to the ground mere yearlings from their date of graft- 

 ing, and are so small that it requires the planter to be next 



