CHAPTER VII 
PLANTING—METHODS AND PROCESSES 
In planning an orchard the object should be to cover the 
whole of the ground as far as possible with trees, so that 
no part of it is left unoccupied. There are two principal 
systems by which this aim can be most economically 
accomplished. One is known as the square plan, the other 
as the hexagonal plan. 
Square Pran.—In this arrangement the trees are 
planted in straight lines up and down the orchard, as well 
as across and across. The rows are best drawn 30 feet 
apart, and the trees planted 30 feet apart in the rows. This 
defines the positions of the permanent trees of the orchard. 
But along with the permanent trees it is customary to 
plant what are known as “fillers.” These are trees 
which it is intended to cut out after a few years, when the 
permanent trees have grown so much that they need 
more room. The fillers are planted half-way between 
the permanent trees in both directions, across and across 
and up and down ; or—another arrangement—in each 
square formed by any four of the permanent trees the 
filler is placed in the middle, at the intersection of the 
lines joining the opposite corners diagonally. The former 
arrangement requires a total of 133 trees (49 permanent 
trees and 84 fillers), the latter 85 trees (49 permanent 
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