THE APPLE. 



57 



bushes or pyramids, can be planted at 6 feet 

 to 12 feet apart, but there are few varieties 

 which will stand many years at the first dis- 

 tance, unless they are pigmy trees on some very 

 dwarfing stock. In the list of select varieties 

 at the end of this chapter we indicate separately 

 some of the best small-growing varieties; these 

 can be planted as stated. 



Examples of useful small-growing sorts are 

 Seaton House, Stirling Castle (fig. 848), and 

 Margil, which under ordinary circumstances 

 can be grown for ten years at 6 feet apart, 

 and sometimes even permanently. 



For the majority of dwarf Apples 10 feet 

 is the most suitable distance, and this allows 

 space for the free development of the trees, 

 and permits intermediate cropping or cultiva- 

 tion. Bush Apples on the free stocks (either 

 seedling Apple or Crab) should be at least 12 

 feet apart, and in the best soils 15 feet is not 

 too much for the strongest varieties. 



Espaliers on trellises or walls require 20 feet 

 distance to permit full development, and fan- 

 trained trees (though they are seldom grown 

 now) need similar distances. Single horizontal 

 cordons should be 10 feet apart, and double 

 horizontal cordons 20 feet, thus allowing an 

 extension of 10 feet in each direction. If 

 single oblique or vertical cordons are grown 

 they can be planted at 2 feet apart, and are 

 then useful for filling up the intermediate 

 spaces on a trellis or wall while espaliers are 

 attaining their full size. 



Marking the. Stations. — When the plan and 

 distances have been decided upon, the next 

 point is setting out the places for the trees, 

 and though this is a matter that does not 

 present any great difficulties several details 

 require attention. A well-designed and care- 

 fully-laid-out orchard or plantation has a very 

 pleasing appearance, and it is worth a little extra 

 trouble at the beginning to ensure this. If a 

 good base-line is secured to start with, it is not 

 a difficult task to set off a plantation of fruit- 

 trees with rod or tape, line, and pegs, in any 

 shape and at any required distances. The chief 

 points to be observed are to have the first line 

 straight, to be accurate in measuring off the 

 distances, and to set the pegs each time in the 

 same position on the tape or rod marks. Mis- 

 takes are often made by the inexperienced in 

 this work, by sometimes setting the pegs inside 

 and at others outside the mark, and in a large 

 plantation this soon leads to considerable irregu- 

 larity that will take a good deal of time to 

 correct when the trees are set out. If pegs 



of equal diameter are used, and approximately 

 equal to the diameter of the stems, the measure- 

 ment may be conveniently made from the inside 

 of one stake to the inside of the next in the 

 same line. But in this case allowance must be 

 made for the diameter of the pegs in the total 

 length of the row. For example, if fifty trees 

 are to be set out in one line at 10 feet apart, 

 the total length required, if the stakes or. pegs 

 are 2 inches in diameter, will be 508 feet 4 

 inches, not 500 feet. If the stations are set 

 off exactly at 10 feet, the measurement must 

 either be made from centre to centre of the 

 pegs, or from the inside edge of one to the out- 

 side edge of the next, or vice versa. There is 

 more risk of mistakes in taking the centres of 

 the stakes than in measuring to the edge, pro- 

 vided they are all equal in size. These appear 

 simple matters to dwell upon in detail, but we 

 have seen troublesome errors arise from ignoring 

 them, which are necessarily more marked in the 

 largest plantations. 



If the pegs are only used for the purpose of 

 marking off the plantation, and are to be removed 

 as planting proceeds, it is a material help if a 

 tree is first planted at the end of the line, and 

 one in the centre, as they can then be sighted 

 from either end of the row, and afford a guide 

 for keeping the others in line. 



Stakes. — If staking is an essential procedure 

 to ensure the safety of the trees, as it is in many 

 situations, there are several advantages in using 

 the stakes for marking out the ground and at 

 once putting them in position for the trees. 

 Under the best circumstances staking can only 

 be regarded as a necessary evil, and whenever 

 such support can be dispensed with it is desirable 

 to do so. But it is only in very sheltered situa- 

 tions, or where one- or two-year-old trees are 

 selected, that stakes are not needed. They are 

 especially requisite for standards : but even 

 dwarf trees, if well developed, require securing 

 in some way. The operation should be simpli- 

 fied as much as possible if the object is only to 

 protect the trees from damage by wind until 

 they are well rooted. "Where trees are planted 

 in grass-land used for grazing, more elaborate 

 precautions will be required. These are re- 

 ferred to under the head of protection. In 

 light, loose soils staking is particularly im- 

 portant, and it is necessary to have the stakes 

 of sufficient length to allow them to be driven 

 deeper into the soil than in heavier land. For 

 standard Apples they should be from 5 to 7 

 feet long, proportionate to the length of the 

 stems, allowing from 1J to 2 feet of the stake 



