150 The Commercial Apple Industry 



three workmen, and if kept tightly drawn and held level, 

 stakes marking the exact site of the trees may be located 

 after the first base line along the side of the orchard has 

 been laid off. 



Attention is called to the fact that in laying off planting 

 distances on uneven land, care must be taken in keeping 

 the measuring line level so that the distance between trees 

 does not include the slope of the land. 



Quincunx system. 



The quincunx being a modification of the square system, 

 may be laid off in the same manner as the latter. The 

 location of the center tree may be established by placing 

 an additional stake midway between the tree stakes in the 

 base line. 



PLANTING DISTANCES 



Close planting is a common tendency in laying out 

 commercial apple orchards. While planting distances 

 vary with the variety and with the region, it is seldom 

 advisable to space permanent trees closer than 30 feet 

 apart. Spreading trees such as Baldwin, Rhode Island 

 Greening and Arkansas (Black Twig) should be planted 

 at greater distances, not closer than 40 feet apart when 

 growth is vigorous. A great mistake was made in plant- 

 ing Xew York orchards closer than 40 feet. Varieties 

 such as Wagener, Yellow Transparent, and Twenty Ounce, 

 which have an upright habit of growth, do not require 

 extreme distances and may be planted as close as 30 feet. 

 In regions in which trees attain smaller size, the planting 

 distances of these upright growing trees may be reduced 



