38 BITTER PIT INVESTIGATION. 



It is a mistake to plant an orchard on our rich agricultural land. The trees grow well for a 

 few years, but they grow too much wood and do not develop fruit-buds and crops in reasonable abun- 

 dance. It'is now recognized by our experienced orchardists that fruit trees of all kinds grow and produce 

 good crops of fruit on poor lands that are not suitable for agricultural purposes. Poor gravelly soil 

 with a friable clay sub-soil about eighteen inches deep also produces good fruit. 



PREPARATION OF THE LAND FOR PLANTING. 



In preparing the land for planting, if virgin soil has been selected, all timber and stumps, 

 roots, etc., should be cleared off to a depth of at least eighteen inches. Then the whole of the land 

 should be ploughed to a uniform depth of at least six to eight inches, and if the subsoil be loosened up 

 to a further depth of eighteen inches, it would be very much better, as the subsoil being stirred up 

 thoroughly it would retain the moisture throughout the summer to the great advantage of the young 

 trees. On no account should holes two feet or so deep be dug in which to plant the trees, as if the sub- 

 soil is at all stiff the water will be retained to the great injury of the tree. The preparation of the land 

 should always be done thoroughly, as planting an orchard is not like planting a field of wheat. An 

 orchard has to last a lifetime or more, and will well repay any extra care hi the preparation of the land. 

 The distance at which apple trees should be planted has caused considerable diversity of opinion in 

 past years, but experienced orchardists now recommend twenty feet as the best distance at which to 

 plant trees in a commercial orchard. This will take about one hundred trees to the acre. 



In planting, a hole a little larger than the spread of the roots should be dug, then as much 

 soil as will form a small mound should be placed in the bottom of the hole. The tree should be placed 

 on the top of the mound, with the roots spread carefully out and with a downward tendency ; some 

 loose soil may be filled in and trampled firmly around the tree, then the rest of the soil should be 

 filled in after. When finished, the tree should stand at the same depth as it was when growing in the 

 nursery bed. Deep planting should always be avoided, as trees deeply planted never thrive so well 

 as when the operation is carefully done. 



During the first year the ground should be deeply stirred by the scarifier, the spring tooth 

 cultivator being the best implement for the purpose. This frequent stirring conserves the moisture 

 and prevents evaporation. Land treated in this manner remains moist all through the driest summer, 

 the trees getting the benefit of the moisture, making a strong growth for the first year of planting. 

 This treatment should be continued in subsequent years. By this means the young trees make a 

 vigorous growth and soon make large trees. 



In the planting of new orchards the cultivation of the land is of far more importance than is 

 generally recognized, as upon this operation depends, in a great measure, the success of the orchard 

 in the early stages of development. Unless the trees make a strong growth when young, they 

 are apt to become stunted and never make the satisfactory orchard tree. Indeed, in two adjoining 

 orchards, one treated as above and the other looked after in a slipshod manner, the difference in a few 

 years is marvellous. In the properly cultivated orchard the trees show a dark green, luxuriant foliage 

 and clean, smooth stems, while the neglected orchard will have a sickly, stunted appearance, the trees 

 having made but poor growth as compared with the other. It is this thorough cultivation of the soil 

 which makes all the difference between a successful commercial orchard and one that is a comparative 

 failure. 



DRAINING. 



Underground drainage is a great factor in the success of an orchard, for by draining off super- 

 fluous water in the winter time and thoroughly aerating the soil, the trees are enabled to resist the 

 attacks of Black Spot (Fusidadium dendriticum) more successfully. 



Money expended on a thorough system of drainage will give a handsome return for the outlay, 

 and if orchardists, instead of planting and extending their orchards, would put the money into drain- 



