164 
best adapted to some persons under some 
circumstances. 
See Article on “INTERCROPPING.” 
GRANVILLE LowTHER 
Plan and Pollination 
For convenience in harvesting it seems 
desirable to plant trees of the same vari- 
eties near together, but on account of 
many varieties being self-sterile it is not 
advisable to plant more than two or three 
rows of a single variety in one block. A 
self-sterile variety is one whose pollen 
will not properly fertilize the flowers of 
the same variety. Trees whose blossoms 
have not been properly fertilized usually 
fail to set fruit, but sometimes produce 
more or less fruit of a gnarly and worth- 
less character. The pollen from a self- 
sterile variety may be depended upon to 
fertilize the blossoms of any other vari- 
ety that blooms at the same time. It is 
difficult to say which varieties are self: 
sterile and which are self-fertile, for the 
subject has not yet been sufficiently in- 
vestigated. There seems to be a differ- 
ence of opinion among those who have 
made a study of the subject, for some 
claim that certain varieties are self-sterile 
while others believe them to be self-fer- 
tile. It is probable that a variety may 
be self-sterile in one locality and self- 
fertile in another. The varieties that are 
generally recorded as self-sterile and that 
should not be planted alone are: Red 
Astrachan, Yellow Bellflower, Chenango, 
Gravenstein, Maiden Blush, Tompkins 
King, Primate, Rambo, Gano, Tolman, 
Esopus Spitzenburg, York Imperial, Wine- 
sap, Roxbury Russet, Golden Russet and 
Northern Spy. The varieties that are 
generally believed to be self-fertile are: 
Oldenburg, Yellow Transparent, Falla- 
water, Grimes, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, 
Rhode Island Greening, and Baldwin. 
These conclusions are the result of lim- 
ited observations, and until more reliable 
information is available, the best prac- 
tice is to avoid large blocks of any single 
variety and to plant varieties of the same 
blooming period in adjoining rows. 
C. D. Jaxvis, 
Storrs, Conn. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Avoid Block Planting 
Varieties of fruit should not be planted 
in orchards in large solid blocks. Some 
of the most productive varieties are not 
readily fertilized with their own pollen. 
Such varieties would be unproductive un- 
less situated so that their blossoms could 
be pollinated by other varieties blooming 
at the same time. Old orchards teach 
their lessons along this line. A commer. 
cial orchard under observation recently 
consisted of four varieties, in solid blocks, 
in the following order: Baldwin, Golden 
Russet, Roxbury Russet, and Spy. The 
Baldwin is a self-fertilizing variety, and 
whenever there was any fruit in the or. 
chard it could always be found on the 
Baldwins. The Golden Russets were laden 
with fruit on alternate years. The Rox- 
bury Russets were pretty generally pro- 
ductive. The Spy block was uniformly 
unproductive, except for a couple of rows 
next the Russets, which bore well when- 
ever the orchard bloomed. Many good 
varieties of fruit are unproductive be- 
cause they are so situated that their blos- 
soms cannot be pollinated from neighbor- 
ing varieties. Instead of planting vari- 
eties in solid blocks they should be 
planted in alternating rows. This may 
make a little more trouble at packing 
time, but there will almost invariably 
be more to pack. 
W. N. Hott, 
Raleigh, N. ¢, 
SETTING THE TREES 
Size of Holes 
The size of the hole in which to plant 
the trees varies according to the soil and 
root system of the trees to be planted. 
We hear a great deal about digging large 
holes for trees. On the whole it is not 
necessary to dig large holes if the soil 
has been properly prepared and it is a 
good tree soil. For the average size 
apple tree on good tree soil the holes 
need not be more than 12 to 18 inches 
square and about the same depth. [If 
the trees are to be planted in a soil that 
is not a tree soil then the hole must be 
made larger. If the soil is almost pure 
sand or gravel the hole ought to be made 
quite large and then partially filled with 
