30 BIGGIE ORCHARD BOOK 



After the tree planter has succeeded in conquering 

 the temptation to crowd his trees too closely together, 

 he is often bitten by another temptation the ' * filler ' ' 

 idea. An orchard "filler," as the word is usually 

 understood, is a small - growing, short-lived tree, 

 something which begins to bear fruit quickly, and 

 which can be cut out after a few years when it begins 

 to crowd the main trees. In theory the idea seems 

 all right, but in actual practise it does not often work 

 out entirely satisfactorily. Usually the fillers are not 

 cut out soon enough. It requires a good deal of pluck 

 to chop down a nice tree, even if it is "only a filler." 

 Then, again, there's often trouble because the tran- 

 sients and the permanents require different treatment. 

 For instance, the full - strength Bordeaux mixture 

 would be all right for apple trees but too strong for 

 peach or Japanese plum trees ; and the latter might 

 require later or shallower cultivation than the non- 

 producing apples. 



The effect of distance between apple trees set about 

 1880, was recently studied in its relation to yield. 

 The following four-year averages were found : 



Bushels 

 per acre. 



Trees not more than 30 x 30 feet apart, 186 



Trees 31 x 31 to 35 x 35 feet apart, 222 



Trees 36 x 36 to 40 x 40 feet apart, 229 



Which goes to show that it does not pay to set trees 

 too closely together. 



The first thing to do in setting an orchard, is to 

 lay out and mark the outer sides of the field, accu- 

 rately, these being the base lines from which to 



