APPLES 265 
“When the kinds of trees to be used as 
fillers are carefully selected and then re- 
moved at the right time they can be made 
profitable. Peaches can sometimes be 
used as fillers in an apple orchard, if the 
soil and climate are suitable Pears are 
not advisable as fillers, especially in an 
apple orchaid, on account of their sus- 
ceptibility to fire blight, which can be 
communicated to the apple trees Quick 
maturing varieties of apples make the 
best fillers in an apple orchard, and es- 
pecially so if the fillers have an upright 
habit, such as Missouri Pippin, Wag- 
ener, or Rome Beauty. Such kinds can 
be handled to advantage in an orchard 
laid out on the rectangular plan, with 
the filler in the center of the square. 
This will double the number of trees per 
acre, and give each tree the maximum 
of room. It is not so easy to plant 
fillers to advantage when the orchard is 
laid out on the hexagonal plan without 
crowding the trees. 
“A common and satisfactory method 
of arranging fillers is to set the perma- 
nent apple trees 30 feet apart, with a 
filler midway between the trees in one 
direction only. This will put the trees 
15x30 feet apart. 
“While good returns can be made from 
the fillers in an orchard, it is safe to say 
that practically as good returns can be 
made by using crops of other kinds. In 
small orchards some of the small fruits, 
such as strawberries, blackberries or cur- 
rants, are good money makers. In large 
orchards, it is better to grow some kind 
of cover crop and work toward building 
up a large framework and strong trees 
that will be heavy bearers when they 
come into fruiting, rather than to try 
to get an extra amount of fruit from the 
temporary trees. 
“One of the great dangers of inter- 
mixed planting is that nine persons out 
of ten will not take the fillers out when 
they ought to. There is danger in it 
to the whole enterprise and the system 
should be recommended very guardedly, 
if at all. Peaches should not be planted 
among apples as a rule. It is better to 
stick to one kind of fruit.” 
Double Planting for Middle States 
The plan of double planting the orchard 
is sometimes followed. The fundamental 
idea of this scheme is to plant temporary 
trees between the permanent ones with 
the idea of removing them when they be- 
gin to crowd. By this double cropping 
early returns may be secured. The peach, 
for example, begins to bear in about three 
years, while the apple requires from five 
to eight years where the method of dou- 
ble planting is followed, it is probably 
best to adhere to the same class of crops. 
In the apple orchards, for example, use 
some early bearing variety such as the 
Wealthy or Missouri Pippin as the filler. 
The plan of using mixed crops has a dis- 
advantage in that different fruits require 
different cultural treatment The peach 
leaf, for example, is tender and injured 
by the spray of the standard strength for 
the apple. The same thing is true of the 
Japanese plums. 
The most serious objection to double 
planting is the fact that the temporary 
trees are usually permitted to stand too 
long and the permanent planting seriously 
injured. Before the outer branches be- 
gin to touch, the filler trees should be 
promptly removed. Otherwise the trees 
enter into competition with each other 
and are compelled to battle for their ex- 
istence. The longer they are allowed to 
stand after reaching this condition the 
more intense the struggle becomes. It is 
rare indeed that the grower has the cour- 
age to cut out these temporary trees. He 
remembers how they bore last year, and 
is thus induced to withhold the axe an- 
other year. In the majority of instances 
it is better to grow small fruits as a filler 
crop, or some annual such as corn or po- 
tatoes. These also have the advantage 
of requiring clean cultivation. 
A. T, Erwin anp G. R. Briss, 
Ames, Iowa. 
Safe Rule for Fillers 
Peach, and other vigorous growing 
trees, are unsuited to be used as fillers 
in an apple orchard, unless confined to 
the centers of the square. They ought 
never to be planted in the rows with the 
apple trees. The only safe rule in the 
