LAYING OUT AN ORCHARD 



intersecting squares. This 

 is the most common 

 method, but it is the 

 most wasteful with ref- 

 erence to use of land. 

 A tree, if unhindered 

 in its growth, may be ex- 

 pected to develop equally 

 in all directions and may 

 be represented by a cir- 

 cle. Figure 21 shows 

 how these circles touch 

 each other when the 

 trees are full grown. The 

 shaded space is unoccu- 

 pied, but amounts to al- 

 most 23 per cent of the 

 area. 



Because of this large 

 amount of waste in the 

 square system of planting, 

 a tree was put in the cen- 

 ter of the square, form- 

 ing the quincunx group. 

 In this way about double 

 the number of trees per 

 acre may be set out. But 

 they cannot all reach their 

 full growth. The con- 

 tinuous circles intersect, 

 showing how the center 

 tree interferes with the 

 growth of the trees at the 

 corners of the squares. 

 It is better to remove 

 the center tree before it 

 reaches this stage of de- 

 velopment. The dotted 

 circles show the amount 

 of development each tree 

 reaches before it is inter- 

 fered with by its neigh- 

 bors. The orchard may 

 be considered, therefore, 

 as a system of squares 

 running diagonally across 



Fig. 18. Area of occupancy, and waste space in the 



hexagonal system 



Trees have an equal exposure to light and air, with only 



10 per cent of area unoccupied. Fifteen per cent more 



trees per acre may be planted than by the square system 



at the same distance apart 



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9 9 9 <? 



9 q 9 



<* 9 Q> 9 



9 <9 9 



9 <* 9 q> 



9 9 9 



Q 9 Q> 9 



9 9 9 



9 4 9 <Q> 



q> q> 9 



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Fig. 19. The hexagonal system 

 Orchard planted with permanent trees and one set ot fillers 



