The Question of Fillers 



179 



same fruit between the regular rows, with the idea of 

 securing a quicker return. These "fillers" are to be removed 

 as soon as the regular plantation requires the room. For 

 this purpose, Wagener or Ben Davis apples may be planted 

 as fillers in an orchard 

 of Baldwins, Spys or 

 Greenings. This means 

 more care and expense 

 in tillage and other 

 attention, and more 

 fertilizing. If the party 

 is an intensive fruit- 

 grower, the effort may 

 pay; but it is a special 

 practice and it always 

 carries the burden of 

 proof. The price of land 

 and labor is an impor- 

 tant factor. It will 

 probably pay best when 

 land is limited or high- 

 priced. It may be better, 

 in a given case, to cover more land and expect less yield 

 to the acre. Only the best cultivators, with suflBcient help 

 and equipment, should attempt double-planting of fruit 

 trees; and these are the persons, also, who will see that 

 the fillers are removed at the proper time. 



"Many of the Connecticut fruit-growers," says Jarvis 

 (Bull. No. 62), "have the necessary intelligence and courage 

 to handle successfully an orchard on the filler system. But 

 there are undoubtedly some who, for the sake of earher 

 returns, are likely to favor the fillers at the expense of the 

 permanent trees and for the sake of getting one or two 



Fig. 28. A well-shaped tree. This tree was 

 grown in an orchard without fillers. Compare 

 with Fig. 29. 



