APPLES 
29 To determine the number of trees 
required per acre for rectangular method. 
Divide the number of square feet per acre 
py the product of the two sides. 
8. To determine the number of trees 
required per acre for triangular or hexa- 
gonal method. Find the number of trees 
for the square method (same distance) 
and divide this number by the decimal 
number .866. 
4. To find the width of alleys in trian- 
gular (equilateral) planting. Divide the 
distance between trees or side of triangle 
py the decimal number .866. 
5. In triangular planting where fillers 
are located at center of triangle, the dis- 
tance between permanent trees may be 
found by multiplying the original distance 
by the number 1.7382. 
6. In quincunx planting to find dis- 
tance between. permanent trees after thin- 
ning multiply the original distance by 
1.42. 
7. To determine the number of trees 
removed by thinning in quincunx plant- 
ing multiply original number by one- 
half: in square plantings and triangular 
planting filled both directions in the row 
multiply original number by  three- 
fourths: equilateral triangular planting 
filled in center of permanent triangles 
multiply the original number by two- 
thirds. 
H. L. Prices, 
Virginia Polytechnic School, Blacksburg, Va. 
Trees Generally Too Close 
The consensus of opinion is, that gen- 
erally trees are planted too close to- 
gether. Those who have given this sub- 
ject much thought are pretty well agreed 
that the proper distance for large trees 
of 20 or 30 years of age is about two rods 
or 33 feet. In some parts of the country 
trees are of much slower growth than in 
others. It probably takes a tree twice as 
long to reach a given size in the north- 
eastern part of the United States as it 
does farther south and on the Pacific 
Coast. Thirty-three feet apart allows for 
40 trees per acre. The principal objec- 
tion to this plan is that it is almost a 
generation before the trees will need all 
of the space that is given to them if 
163 
there are only 40 trees to the acre, and 
in the meantime there is much land and 
labor wasted that might in some way be 
utilized to considerable advantage. With 
this in view the plan of planting “fillers” 
between the rows and cross rows has 
been adopted, so that instead of having 
40 trees per acre there are 160 trees per 
acre, and instead of being two rods apart 
they are one rod apart. 
The purpose is to cut out these fillers 
at some period during the growth of the 
trees when they begin to crowd each other. 
Kinds of Fillers to Use 
If this plan is adopted the question is 
What kinds and varieties of fruits shall 
be used as fillers, with the object of sac- 
rificing them when the permanent trees 
require the room? Very often peaches 
are selected, because the peach tree is a 
rapid grower and early bearer; it is also 
a short-lived tree and will in some cases 
have passed its highest usefulness be- 
fore the apple trees need the ground. 
The pear is more nearly related to the 
apple than the peach, and needs more 
nearly the same treatment, requires the 
same spraying and can be grown in apple 
orchards without any particular incon- 
venience. However, it is not so vigorous 
a grower as the peach and will not yield 
as large returns for the first few years. 
Some will plant Wagener apples as 
fillers, because they bear heavily, bear 
early and trees are shaped much like the 
pear. Others will plant small fruits, such 
as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, 
etc., because they can be so pruned as 
not to interfere with spraying or cultiva- 
tion. Some discard fillers and raise veg- 
etables. If this method is adopted, the 
land should ganerally be mulched or ma- 
nured in order to put back into the soil 
the substances taken out by the crops. 
It has been argued by Van Reman and 
Deman and others that the best method 
is to plant nothing but apple trees in an 
apple orchard, plant them 20 feet apart, 
and when they begin to crowd each other 
cut them out diagonally. 
Thus we have a variety of opinions, 
each possessing some merit, and each the 
