16 REPORT ON THl' No. 24 



and the locality. The varieties thrown in our most northern orchards seldom 

 spread more than twenty or twenty-five feet, while the kinds g-rown in the more 

 favored apple sections of Southern Ontario often have a spread of forty feet. 

 The best guides to intendinj,^ planters is to observe carefully the distances required 

 for full grown apple trees in the neig-hborhood. In southern Ontario this will be 

 found to be from thirty-five to forty feet, throughout central Ontario thirty to 

 thirty-five feet, while in the northern sections where only the hardiest kinds are 

 grown, twenty-five feet will be found quite sufficient. It is wise to allow plenty 

 of space, so that there will be no crowding when the trees have reached their full 

 size. Planting too clo.^-x is a far more frequent and serious mistake than planting 

 too far apart. 



A plan quite frequently adopted, particularly in some of the large American 

 orchards, is to use some of the small-g"rowing early-bearing varieties, as fillers 

 between the large-growing varieties. The Duchess, Ontario, and Ben Davis, for 

 example, are planted alternately with large growing kinds, such as Baldwin, 

 Greening, and Spy. 



In such cases, the large-growing kinds are set at the maximum distance apart, 

 a>id the smaller kinds between them. By the time the larger kinds begin crowd- 

 ing\thc smaller one.s will have paid for their keep and that of the others, and can 

 be cut\out to make room for the larger trees. The greatest objection to this plan 

 is the danger that the fillers may be left so long before they are removed that the 

 value of the whole orchard may be impaired. 



There is a diversity of opinion as to the best time for planting, although it 

 may be done successfully any time when the tree is dormant, either in the spring 

 or autumn. In favorable localities and with hardy varieties it may be done quite 

 as well one season as another, but for general planting the spring is the safest 

 time in our rigorous climate. 



The trees should be planted in rows as straight as it is possible to make 

 them. Straight rows add not only to the appearance of the orchard, but to the 

 convenience of cultivation. One of the best means of getting the rows straight 

 is to stake out the position for each tree before beginning- to plant. 



Great care should be taken to prevent the roots of the trees drying while 

 they are out of the ground. If it happens to be hot and windy at the time of 

 transplanting, it is a good plan to puddle the roots in soft mud as soon as they 

 are taken from the packing box or trench, and in carrying the trees about the 

 orchard, it is well to keep the roots covered with a wet blanket or piece of old 

 carpet. 



The hole for the tree should be wide enough to hold the roots without cramp- 

 ing or crowding-, and should be deep enough to admit of a fe-vv inches of fine 

 mellow surface soil being filled in the bottom, and still have the roots an inch or 

 two deeper than they were in the nursery row. The roots should be spread out 

 in their natural position and should be covered with moist mellow surface soil. 

 It is well, in digging the holes, to have the surface soil placed at one side and 

 ti-ie subsoil on the other, so that in refilling, the surface earth may be placed next 

 the roots and the subsoil left for the top. If the soil has been properly prepared 

 it is seldom necessary to water the roots at the time of transplanting, but care 

 must be taken to ensure the soil moisture from below coming up to the roots. 

 This may be done by tramping the earth firmly as soon as the roots are well cov- 

 ered, and leaving only the top soil untramped to act as a mulch and retain the 

 moisture below. The neglect of this firming of the soil around the roots is one of 

 the most common causes of failure in the Iransnianting of trees. If watering is 

 necessary, a small pailful poured in as soon as the roots are nearly covered, is of 

 more u^^e than a half do^'en on the surface after the nlantino- is finished. 



