166 
and supply any moisture to the tree un- 
til the spring. Evaporation from the tree 
is going on all the time. The moisture 
given off by the tree has to be replaced 
by the roots. If the roots have not been 
established they cannot supply this mois- 
ture which is being evaporated. The 
longer this condition exists the more the 
tree will suffer. The roots of spring 
planted trees do not lie in the ground as 
long as those of fall planted trees be- 
fore they begin to grow. The drier the 
fall and the winter the greater will be 
the evaporation and the more likely the 
tree is to suffer. On the other hand in 
mild climates fall planted trees very fre- 
quently start small roots which may sup- 
ply moisture to the tree during the win- 
ter. Where trees do that fall planting is 
better, but where they do not spring plant- 
ing is preferred. In the Mesilla valley in 
Southern New Mexico fall planted trees 
frequently start a few roots soon after 
being transplanted. Taking everything 
into consideration spring planting is bet- 
ter for New Mexico conditions. 
FABIAN GARCIA, 
Santa Ere, N. M. 
Upper Mississippi Valley 
For the Upper Mississippi valley, spring 
is the preferable time for planting. Trees 
which have been disturbed in the fall 
by transplanting are more subject to root- 
killing the following winter. The work 
should be done early in the spring in or- 
der that the roots may have time to be- 
come re-established before the hot and 
often dry weather of July and August. 
In planting all mutilated roots should 
be cut back and any diseased portion cut 
away. If the root system appears to be 
unhealthy the tree should be discarded, 
as it is a mistake to plant anything put 
strong, healthy specimens. 
A. T. Erwin, 
Ames, Towa. 
Lower Snake River Valley 
In the fall and winter of 1910-11 the 
Lewiston-Clarkston Improvement Com- 
pany planted at Clarkston, Wash., 1,000 
acres of apple trees. Mr. W. B. Lanham, 
horticulturist for the company, states: 
“We started planting the first of De- 
cember and finished about the first of 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
April, planting whenever the weather 
would permit. The time of transplanting 
seemed to make quite a diiference in the 
growth the trees made this season. The 
first planted made at least twice the 
growth of those set out last, with a grad- 
ual graduation between.” 
Conditions were practically the same for all 
plantings except that December planting was 
made after a wet November. More rain fel] 
during that month than during the five months 
succeeding, The precipitation tor November 
was 3.51 inches, between 0.38 inch and 075 
inch for the next five months and 146 inches 
in May. No water was used in planting and 
the trees were not irrigated later ‘The ground 
Trove that winter to a depth ot about two teat. 
Fall or Spring Planting 
(Michigan) 
The advisability of fall or spring plant- 
ing depends upon several conditions. Fall] 
planting has the advantage over spring 
planting in that the trees become firmly 
established in the soil before winter sets 
in, and are able to start growth in the 
spring before the ground can be marked 
and put into condition for planting. This 
is important because the trees get a good 
growth in the early part of the season, 
before the summer droughts occur. On 
the other hand, there is more or less dan- 
ger from winter injury during a severe 
winter or from drying out of the trees 
if the winter is long or dry. Fall planting 
is much more successful with the hardy 
apples and pears than it is with the ten- 
der plums, cherries and peaches. In Michi- 
gan it is seldom safe to plant peaches, 
sweet cherries or apricots in the fall. 
The convenience of the season will de- 
termine in a majority of cases whether 
or not the planting shall be done in the 
fall or spring. Very often the rush of 
spring work induces the grower to hurry 
his planting, or to do it carelessly, and 
as a result a poor stand is secured, with 
crooked rows. Others have large crops to 
harvest in the fall, and would find it more 
convenient to do the planting in the 
spring. If there is any doubt as to the 
best time to plant, let it be done in the 
spring, and as early as the ground can 
be gotten into proper condition. 
0. K. Waits, 
Bield Agent in Horticulture, Michigan Agri- 
cultural College Experiment Station, Hast 
Lansing, Mich. 
