32 beginners' guide to fruit growing 



careful attention; it is a great deal easier to succeed 

 with one crop growing on a piece of land than with 

 two or three different crops on the same land, espe- 

 cially when these different crops have somewhat 

 different requirements. One of the great objec- 

 tions to the planting of apples and peaches on the 

 same land is commonly said to be that they require 

 different quantities and kinds of fertilizers. While 

 this objection appears to be rather strained, the 

 principle on which it is founded is correct. The 

 chief practical objection in experience arises from 

 the fact that many planters do not thin out the 

 orchard soon enough ; the trees are allowed to stand 

 until they may seriously injure one another. This 

 is a genuine danger, though it is not the fault of the 

 system, but is due simply to its misapplication. 



LAYING OUT THE LAND 



When a piece of ground is nicely prepared and 

 ready to plant (it should be left with a smooth clean 

 surface, as a rough surface interferes seriously with 

 the accuracy of the layout), it should be staked off, 

 placing a stake at each point where a tree is to be 

 planted. This should be done as accurately as pos- 

 sible. While it is doubtless true that trees will 

 grow as well in crooked rows as in straight ones, 

 yet the straight rows look a whole lot better and 

 are actually somewhat easier to cultivate. Anyone 

 who has sense and self-respect enough to plant 

 fruit trees at all will certainly want to present the 

 most orderly and attractive plantation possible. A 

 surveyor's instrument and a chain will give the 

 most satisfactory layout if reasonably manipulated. 

 A simpler way, working without special tools, is 



