CHAPTER 261, 
PLANTING THE TREES. 
After the field has been graded, thoroughly tilled and care- 
fully laid off as has been described, the next step is digging the 
holes for the trees. “How large shall the holes be?’ He was 
a wise fruit grower who, when asked this question, replied, “As 
large as the field.” That is to say, it is much better to work 
the whole ground over deeply than to trust to deep holes and 
shallow working elsewhere. Where this is done, the tree holes 
need only be large enough and deep enough to receive the roots 
without folding them in or cramping them up. In a loose, deep 
soil, however, one can dig extra deep and broad holes if he de- 
sires, and will be repaid by extra growth of the tree; but in a 
close, tenacious soil a deep hole is not only undesirable, but 
often positively a danger to the tree, unless drainage of the holes 
is provided artificially. Such holes hold water like a tub, and 
the loosening of the soil deeply facilitates its gathering in the 
hole. Many have found their trees in such places dwindling 
and dying because their roots were soaking in water. 
Planting on Some Shallow Soils—As a rule, trees should 
have a deep soil, and for these deep, free loams, California is 
famous, but there are situations where very satisfactory growth 
.. and production can be had, even when the hard-pan is near the 
surface and the soil would be called shallow. In such places 
it is the character of the subsoil which warrants the tree and 
vine planter in making use of them. The best illustration of 
such situations is the large area of what is called “bed-rock 
land,” adjacent to the city of Sacramento. It is about thirty 
years since Mr. James Rutter, of Florin, first noticed that there 
were vines here and there which grew exceptionally well and 
bore large crops of fine fruit. He found by investigation that 
under these vines there were crevices in the bed-rock, and from 
this he took the hint to bore through this hard-pan in the bottom 
of the hole where he placed the tree, and in this way he gained 
access for the roots to the subsoil and egress for the water 
through the permeable substratum. He bores a hole two inches 
in diameter into or through the bed-rock and rams well into it 
one and a half pounds of black blasting powder. After explod- 
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