APPLES 399 
gated Each orchard laborer has a spe- 
cial tract on which he stays during the 
season, and is held responsible tor the 
labor on that tract. 
On his trips the consulting horticul- 
turist gives evening lectures to all the 
men; the effort is to train them, to in- 
spire them in the work and develop great- 
er individual interest among them 
Planning the Orchard 
When the company decides to make a 
new planting, the soil is first selected and 
examined very carefully Both the sur- 
face soil and subsoil are examined. Or- 
chardists often overlook the subsoil exam- 
ination but it is very important The 
tree does a great deal of work below the 
surface and to get the best results must 
have a congenial subsoil 
The best commercial varieties are then 
selected which are best suited to the alti- 
tude, soil and other conditions. The vari- 
eties are always arranged so as to secure 
cross-pollinization. Honey bees being the 
chief agents of cross-pollination, are kept 
in the orchard as soon as the orchard 
comes into bearing. 
The orchards are usually planted 30 
feet on the square with a tree in the cen- 
ter of the square It will be seen that 
the trees in the centers of the squares 
make also an orchard 30 feet on the 
square. In other words, we have a double 
orchard each with its cross-pollination 
varieties. All the trees stand for 11 or 
12 years, and then the orchard of least 
value is cut out. If we plant a variety 
that is somewhat untried, we always 
double it with a thoroughly proven vari- 
ety. The reason is evident: if the ques- 
tionable variety does not prove better 
than the proven variety it can be grubbed 
out at the end of 11 or 12 years, and the 
permanent orchard not injured in the 
least This is a good way to handle ques- 
tionable but promising varieties, such as 
the Delicious and Stayman Winesap. 
This system of planting permits the 
renewal of orchards, a very important 
consideration for the orchardists of the 
arid West. If it proves true, as many 
predict, that most of our orchards will 
have passed the best bearing period at 
the age of 35 or 40 years, 1t behooves us 
to plan our orchards so that they can be 
renewed at about that time if necessary. 
By this system of planting, young trees 
can be replanted in the centers of the 
squares when the orchard is 25 or 30 
years old and, when the young trees come 
into bearing, the old ones can be cut out. 
Our aim is to make the orcharding 
permanent, and to this end we safeguard 
ourselves in every possible way. 
Planting Two-Year-Old Trees 
Whether to plant one or two-year-old 
trees is a question on which there is a 
difference of opinion. I will set down my 
results and let the reader judge for him- 
self. During the last two years we have 
planted over 80,000 two-year-old trees, we 
have averaged about a 95 per cent stand, 
and the trees at the end of the second 
year average better than the one-year-old 
trees that have been three years in the 
orchard. We have saved a year by plant- 
ing the two-year-old stock. We get bet- 
ter heads when planting the two-year-olds. 
It is hard for a one-year-old tree, when 
planted in the orchard, to make its root 
connection with the soil and put out a 
good head the first year. They usually 
put out a weak head with poor crotches. 
If the tree is allowed to stand in the 
nursery another year, where it has its 
root connections with the soil, it puts out 
a good head with strong crotches and 
leaders with the proper angle (about 45 
degrees) from the trunk of the tree. If 
the tree does not have a good head do 
not plant it. This insures good heads on 
the trees, a very important point, because 
the whole tree structure is built on the 
head, and more trees break down because 
of weak heads than from any other cause. 
However, it is harder to grow the two- 
year-old trees than the one-year-old trees. 
If you are not going to give the two-year- 
old trees the special care they require I 
would advise you not to plant them. 
Pruning Young Trees 
The main thing here is to develop a per- 
manent tree structure. If the tree is a 
one-year-old and puts out a poor head, re- 
