20 



Preparation of Land. 



Assuming- that a suitable orchard site has been selected, it will 

 be perhaps necessary to " clear " it of growing bush or trees. There 

 are many " stump pullers " on the market, but in any case a good deal 

 of work is required to get things in order and the land freed from roots, 

 etc. The use of dynamite for such work has been much advocated, 

 and considerable work done by means of that agency. Speaking of 

 the use of dynamite generally, the reader is referred to the words 

 " suitable orchard site " ; such site does not require the use of 

 dynamite, excepting, perhaps, in the connection referred to. 



The principal points to be borne in mind in preparing the land 

 are that it must be (if necessary) thoroughly cleared, deeply ploughed 

 and sub-soiled, cross ploughed, and levelled so that the water may be 

 easily led, and finally thoroughly well harrowed so as to leave it in 

 a fit condition for marking out. In many cases land would be better 

 if a crop of some kind were planted the first year instead of being at 

 once laid out to fruit trees. If of poor quality, a leguminous crop 

 planted in spring and ploughed under when in blossom during the 

 summer would have a beneficial effect ; given moderately good soil a 

 crop of mealies may be taken off with advantage — there are few crops 

 so well calculated to open up the soil as this. In most cases, however, 

 the desire is to get the land planted with orange trees at the earliest 

 possible moment, and so the preparatory crops are likely to be passed 

 over. 



Laying out the Orchard. 



There are many ways of laying out an orange grove. If economy 

 of space is an object of little importance then no method is equal to the 

 old-fashioned rectangular or square system of planting, i.e. 



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By this system more room is allowed for eucli tree than by any 

 other, more room is allowed for ploughing and cultivating, and good 

 and simple methods of irrigation may be resorted to. True, exact" 

 economical distribution of space does not occur, but tlTe trees are likely 

 to benefit by that very fact, as each will get more root feeding space 

 under this system. Trees at 20 feet apart planted thus go 108 to the 

 acre ; at 22 feet, 90 ; and at 24 feet, 76. 



Hexagonal Planting. — As opposed to the square, this method is 

 the most economical which can be adopted ; the trees stand equi-distant 



