154 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Aphi l, 1909 



Never plant a tree with any broken or 

 bruised roots, but cut them off a trifle above 

 the bruise, using a sharp knife, and making 

 a clean cut. Rootlets will soon grow out 

 from this cut, whereas if left twisted and 

 bruised, the entire root may die. Plant 

 about one inch deeper than the tree was in 

 the nursery. 



There is some difference of opinion as to 

 the amount of pounding that should be done 

 on the soil after planting — some planters 

 use tamping rods and pack the ground very 

 hard; others leave the ground soft and 

 sloppy and prefer staking the tree to pound- 

 ing the soil. I pack the soil around the roots 

 rather firmly, but no more than is necessary 

 to insure the tree's not blowing over in a 

 heavy wind. I don't use tamping rods, as 

 they pack the soil hard and even, and the 

 moisture is soon lost by evaporation. I pack 

 with my feet, first using a small stick to work 

 the soil around the small rootlets. I then 

 leave the top two or three inches of soil soft 

 and untrampled as a mulch to help check 

 evaporation. 



Prune after planting to offset the shock of 

 removal. Entirely remove all thin, weak 

 wood and shorten back the tops of the 

 stronger branches about one-fourth of their 

 length ; the exact degree depends to a certain 

 extent on the condition of the tree. If well 

 rooted less pruning is necessary than if poorly 

 rooted. 



Rather prune too much than not at all; if 

 the tree is poorly rooted and underpruned it 

 will probably die; if well rooted, it will 

 quickly make up for the lost wood. 



After planting, cultivate deeply, using 

 by preference a spring harrow or a good, deep 

 tooth cultivator. Deep cultivation, while 

 better preserving the moisture, also tends to 

 drive the roots deeper into the soil, and they 

 are thereby enabled to better withstand hot, 

 dry summers and cold, heavy winters. 



Exposure to wind and sun is exceedingly 



harmful to the newly arrived stock, as the 

 young rootlets quickly dry out and perish. 

 Dig a trench about two feet wide and the same 

 depth, and place the roots in this trench. 

 Cover them up and tread the ground around. 

 You can then take out such trees as you need 

 without exposing the roots of the others. 



WHAT KIND OF STOCK? 



You will ask "Shall I get the largest I 

 can?" In some cases "Yes"; in others 

 "No." Good-sized trees are all right if 

 they have been properly grown by the 

 nurseryman having transplanted them occa- 

 sionally. In doing that he cuts all the long 

 roots and you get a tree with a growth of 

 fibrous roots in plenty and that is what 

 counts. Remember the long roots woody 

 with no fine rootlets are absolutely of no 

 value. They are only anchors. 



Go to the nursery yourself if possible and 

 see what kind of roots the trees have. If 



e hole wide enough to take the roots easily. 

 Use a board as a guide to depth 



"Work the soil into the tine roots with the hand 

 after spreading them out evenly 



you cannot do that be sure that you are 

 dealing with a man of repute. Ask him 

 about the sizes and roots of his stock; he 

 will not advise you wrongly. 



Don't select your varieties sitting at the 

 fireside with your wife and "I. Growem- 

 quick's" catalogue in your hand, anon run- 

 ning your eye down the page and stopping 

 at a variety with a nice sounding name, and 

 which the book says is a good variety. Did 

 you ever see a nursery catalogue that did 

 not describe a variety as good. No, sir! 

 To the nurseryman all are good because he 

 is not growing fruit; he grows trees. 



The best way to select varieties that will 

 surely be suitable to your locality is to find 

 out from your neighbors which pears and 

 apples gave the best results in the last few 

 years. A fruit that does well in Connecticut 

 does not of necessity do well in New Jersey. 

 A few varieties adapt themselves to almost 

 any locality, and are, therefore, the most 

 commonly known. 



Don't think for a moment that location 

 does not count. It does ! It is, indeed, one of 



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With a small stick make the soil fairly firm 



the most important factors. To illustrate: 

 Some twenty years ago a pear by the name 

 of Marshall was introduced. Ask any of 

 your friends whether they know that pear, and 

 and they will probably shake their heads, but 

 I can show you one of the finest trees I have 

 ever seen of any variety, laden every year 

 with beautiful, fine-flavored fruits, and the 

 tree is as free from the San Jose scale as the 

 Keiffer. There is no better pear for the 

 south shore of Long Island, but it is a failure 

 elsewhere and is not even listed among the 

 "selected" varieties. 



PLANTING FOR EFFICIENCY 



Plan your orchard as you would a garden. 

 Have a little system in it. Put the small 

 fruits in a border surrounding the trees, or 

 plant them all to one side of the larger trees. 

 Keep everything in straight rows and only 

 one kind in a row. Apples are the best fruits 

 for the amateur gardener, as they are robust 

 growers, do not require any coddling, and 

 will thrive on a fairly good soil with only 

 occasional pruning and spraying. 



Select old, tried-out varieties, but if a 

 novelty is wanted, experiment with one tree 

 and if that is successful, plant more later. 

 This will take time, but it is better to lose 

 time than to have nothing but failures. 



In the following recommendations I name 

 the varieties of widest distribution — those 

 which will adapt themselves to the greatest 

 range of conditions. There may be some 

 better ones for your own region. 



The best summer apples, or early varieties, 

 are Sweet Bough, a sweet variety; Yellow 

 Transparent, another sweet early variety; 

 Early Harvest and Red Astrachan, the best 

 cookers of the early apples. The best fall 

 fruits are Oldenburg, Maiden Blush, and 

 Gravenstein, a variety well known for its 

 beautiful odor. The best sorts among the 

 late apples are Northern Spy, the best eating 

 apple to date: Spitzenburg, another good 

 eater; Baldwin and Ben Davis, perhaps the 

 best keepers. Other good varieties are 

 Fallawater, Bismarck, Hubbardstoh, Rhode 

 Island, Newton Pippin, Seek No Further, 





