APPLES 
of the trees. On larger areas the position 
of the trees is usually determined by 
sighting across the field or by the use 
of a modified corn-marker. Sometimes a 
plow is used to open up a furrow in both 
directions. 
Before attempting to lay out a field 
that is irregular in outline, it must first 
pe squared off in such a way that the 
rows running across the field will be at 
right-angles to the rows running the other 
direction. A base line running along a 
straight side of a field is first chosen. 
If there is no straight side, a straight line 
running along the longer side of the field 
may be established. At right-angles to 
this line and near each end, may be pro- 
jected two other lines. On small areas 
this may be done with two straight edges 
and a‘ carpenter’s square, but on large 
tracts this method is not sufficiently ac- 
curate. The best and most reliable method 
is that described in Fig. 3. At the de- 
q 
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a 
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sopmebeebe re abet as 
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. 
Diagram Showing Method of Squaring 
Off an Irregular Field. 
i 
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wae Fe oe ee ere 
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Sired point (A) on the base line a stake 
is set, and exactly 60 feet from this on 
the same line another stake (B) is set. 
By stretching a string 80 feet long from 
the first stake (A) and another string 
100 feet long from the second stake (B) 
and by bringing the two ends together 
at (C) the position of the third stake 
may be determined. Then the desired 
line is drawn from A through C to the 
other side of the field. The same opera- 
tion is repeated near the other end of the 
field. The distance between the rows, one 
way, may be marked off on the projected 
lines and the distance between the rows, 
the other way may be indicated on 
the base line and also on the line 
153 
parallel to it on the opposite side of the 
field. The rows in both directions can 
be extended to the margin of the field. . 
On hilly lands it is often very difficult 
to get the trees lined up properly. In 
such cases, telephone wire is sometimes 
employed to stretch across the field. To 
indicate the position of the trees a smaller 
wire may be wound around and soldered 
to the larger one at the required dis- 
tances. The telephone wire is stretched 
tightly and a stake set at every point 
indicated by the soldered wire. In the 
hollow places, where the wire is far above 
the ground, a plumb-bob may be necessary 
to find the exact position where the stake 
should be set. Twine, on account of its 
stretching character, is unsuitable to this 
purpose. The main point in measuring 
off uneven land, is in keeping the meas- 
uring line level. On steep hillsides, where. 
cultivation is impracticable in any way, 
except parallel with the slope, the trees 
are often planted on terraces. These 
terraces are formed by leaving an un- 
plowed strip of land along or between 
the rows. Where the slope is irregular 
it is very difficult and almost impossible 
to line up the trees properly and at the 
same time have the terraces follow the 
lines of trees. In such cases, the terraces, 
with a row to each terrace, are allowed 
to follow the contours of the slope, and 
the trees thus are arranged in curved, 
instead of straight rows. Where the slope 
is steep the terraces are made somewhat 
farther apart so that the trees will not 
be too close together. In view of the 
abundance of available land that is well 
suited to orcharding, it is seldom advis- 
able to select such land that cannot be 
regularly laid out and conveniently cul- 
tivated. 
When laying out the land for the quin- 
cunx system of planting, lines should be 
drawn midway between the other rows 
in both directions: that is, when the 
quincunx group forms a square 40x40 
feet, the field must be marked out by 
lines 20 feet apart each way. The stakes 
for the trees of the even rows are set 
opposite the spaces of the odd rows. | 
The setting of the stakes for the hexa- 
gonal system seems to be somewhat more 
