PRUNING BEFORE PLANTING 177 



figure 102. Two stakes are placed in the line of stakes to suit the 

 length of the planting board. The notch at its center is held on 

 the stake where the trees is to be planted until the other two 

 stakes are driven in place. Then the stake is removed and the 

 hole may be dug. When the tree is planted the notch on the plant- 

 ing board will locate the trunk of the tree exactly. 



Heeling in Trees. — When trees are received from the home 

 nursery or by shipment from a distance, a trench should be dug in 



O 



Fig. 101. — Plan for setting an orchard. X's are stakes set at right angles along two sides. 

 The places for all other trees, O, are easily obtained by measuring with two poles from adja- 

 cent stakes. 



the orchard and the roots immediately covered with soil. The 

 bundle should first be cut apart so that the soil will come in contact 

 with all the roots well. Care must be exercised to avoid the labels 

 being lost or the varieties mixed. If necessary each variety can be 

 placed by itself in a separate trench or hole (Fig. 133). 



Pr unin g before Planting. — The holes should first be dug, and 

 when everything is ready for planting the trees may be taken up 

 and pruned before planting. Cut off all the broken roots and trim 

 away any diseased or injured parts. Prune the top somewhat 

 severely so as to balance the loss of roots occasioned by the digging. 

 One-year-old trees have buds throughout, and the pruning will 

 be simply cutting off all the top down to a height of about two feet. 

 12 



