ORCHARDS. 



35 



It is assumed that farm land to be appro- 

 priated to the orchard has been previously 

 properly drained, that there is a very porous 

 subsoil, or the natural surface drainage is suffi- 

 cient, otherwise it will be necessary to have the 

 land efficiently drained. 



Manures. — In the application of manures be- 

 fore planting several points require considera- 

 tion. While it is not desirable that fruit-trees 

 should be stunted in their early stages, it would 

 be unwise to induce excessively vigorous growth, 



the effect of which would be to unduly postpone 

 the period of fruit-bearing. As a general rule, 

 a moderately heavy well-worked soil can supply 

 all that a young fruit-tree requires for its early 

 development. On the other hand, if the soil is 

 somewhat poor and light, and there is reason 

 to believe that owing to defective cultivation in 

 the past it is not in a condition to ensure con- 

 tinued growth, a liberal admixture of old stable 

 or farmyard manure (12 to 20 tons per acre) may 

 be very beneficial. It is a case for the exercise 



X-.— -30'- 



--% 





X 





X 



30' X 



30' 



X 





X 





x ::.... 30 f- 



-X 





X 





X 



X 





X 





X 





X 



X 





X 





X 



X 





X 





X 





X 



X 





X 





X 



X 





X 





X 





X 



X 





X 





X 



Fig. 828. -The Square System. 

 = Standard Fruit-trees : 30 feet X 30 feet. 



50 FEET TO 1 INCH 



Fig. 829.— The Quincunx System. 



X = Standard or Dwarf Fruit-trees. The lines can, however, be formed 



with Standards and Dwarfs alternately 



of the cultivator's judgment. In one instance 

 the application of manure may be not only 

 wasteful, but injurious; in the other it may be 

 found a profitable investment. 



But there is another respect in which natural 

 and bulky manures prove beneficial, and that 

 is in their physical or mechanical action of 

 opening the soil, ensuring better aeration, and 

 consequently a more rapid breaking down of 

 the various compounds to fit them for the use 

 of the trees. This applies specially to heavy 

 soils, and we have seen remarkable effects pro- 

 duced on the growth of Apple-trees by the in- 

 corporation of such an unpromising substance 

 as fibrous peat in a very heavy soil prior to 

 planting. For the same reason the growth of 

 green crops to be ploughed or dug in previous 

 to planting is also beneficial on such soils. 



The arrangement of the orchard and the 

 general plans for fruit plantations require some 

 discussion. As regards the orchard proper, 

 there are four systems upon either of which the 



trees can be conveniently arranged. These 

 are: — 



1. The Square system (see fig. 828). In this 

 the trees are arranged at equal distances each 

 way, so that each tree stands at the corner of a 

 square. This is convenient for planting and 

 working, and is best adapted for permanent 

 plantations, although it admits of fewer trees per 

 acre than the others at the same distances. 



2. The Quincunx (see fig. 829) is a modifica- 

 tion of the square system, in which an addi- 

 tional tree is planted in the centre of each square. 

 This obviously allows of a much larger number 

 of trees to the acre, and is to be preferred 

 where the intention is to reduce the number 

 of trees by thinning. 



3. The Triangular or alternate system (see 

 fig. 830) is still another modification of the last, 

 the trees being arranged so that they are equi- 

 distant in the lines, and the rows are the same 

 distance apart; but each alternate line is com- 

 menced opposite the centre of the space between 



