STARTING THE ORCHARD ^7 



tween orchard trees only under circumstances of great 

 urgency. 



Strawberries are sometimes grown between tree 

 rows, especially for the first two or three years after 

 the orchard is put out. There is no special objection 

 to them. They are not likely to cause any damage 

 to the orchard. At the same time the strawberry 

 plants are very easy to get rid of when the ground 

 is needed for the trees ; and, in fact, the diminishing 

 size of the strawberries will very soon lead to their 

 removal. For this reason strawberries are tO' be con- 

 sidered a safe crop in young orchards. 



Elsewhere mention is made of the practice of grow- 

 ing various garden and farm crops between the trees 

 of a young orchard. The fundamental principle is 

 that it is bad management ever to grow any crop 

 which, directly or indirectly, in whatever degree, is a 

 detriment to the 'trees which are to form the perma- 

 nent plantation. 



Since the prime object of double planting is econ- 

 omy of land, and since, with this object in view, the 

 trees are set unusually close together, it follows that 

 considerable repressive pruning is likely to be needed. 

 Pruning has already been mentioned as one of the 

 means of economizing land ; and doubtless the most 

 satisfactory system of orchard management would 

 combine double planting with repressive pruning. The 

 fillers must always be kept headed back to such an 

 extent that they do not interfere with the proper de- 

 velopment of the permanent trees, and if this heading 

 back is kept up in such timely and foresighted man- 

 ner as to keep the fillers fully under control, the time 

 of their removal may be considerably postponed. 



