ITS CULTUKE IN CALIFOENIA. 



49 



nest among horticultural writers, I ven- 

 ture to correct the error that has been 

 tolerated so long. 



Why Septuple. — This system I call the 

 Septuple because it is made up of regular 

 groups of seven. The geometrical figure 

 formed by this group is that of a hexagon, 

 with a tree at each angle and a tree in the 

 middle, thus: 



FIG. 13— THE SEPTUPLE aEOUP. 



Note — It is possible to resolve the trees planted 

 by this system into groups of five, but they do not 

 form a regular equilateral figure. Thus, in Fig. 

 0, It is seen at a glance that the figure formed is 

 not a square, hence cannot come within Webster's 

 definition of quincunx. 



trees stand at irregular distances apart. 

 A B 



e 



C D 



FIG. 15— IRREGULAR DISTANCES APART. 



Thus, the established square distance 

 being twenty-four feet, A and B are 

 twenty-four feet apart; likewise B and D 

 D and C, and C and A. But the distance 

 from each one of these trees to e is seven- 

 teen feet (approximately). Hence it hap- 

 pens that; while the rows up and down 

 the orchard and transversely may be too 

 open (24 feet), the diagonal rows (from A 

 to D and B to C) may be too close (17 feet). 



With the septuple system, this difficulty 

 is entirely obviated, as each tree is equi- 

 distant from all proximate trees. 



A B 



G 



FIG. — SHOWING MISAPPLICATION OF TEEM QtJINCDNX 



The complete orchard is resolvable into 

 a succession of these groups, matched to- 

 gether like the blocks in a hexagon quilt. 



FIG. 14 — SEPTUPLE GROUPS. 



No Practical Bearing.— Of course, 

 the fact that trees planted on this system, 

 or on any other, are resolvable into groups 

 cuts no figure in the practical work of 

 planting or cultivating the orchard. Nei- 

 ther will one readily discover this geo- 

 metrical peculiarity on inspecting the 

 trees themselves. On the contrary, be- 

 tween the Quincunx and Septuple planted 

 orchards, scarcely any difference is ob- 

 servable on casual inspection. 



The Difference. — But there is a dif- 

 ference, and an essential one in the econo- 

 my of planting. Taking the figure of the 

 uincunx, for example, we see that the 



E D 



FIG. 16— TREES equidistant. 



Thus, from A to B and B to C and tJience 

 around the hexagon, the spaces are the 

 same, and these spaces also equal the lines 

 A G, B G, C G, D G, etc. 



The Advantage. — Herein lies the great 

 advantage of Septuple planting, making 

 it, in my opinion, the finest system ever 

 devised. Upon a given space, allowing 

 the same distances between trees, fifteen 

 per cent more trees may be planted Septu- 

 ple than by the Square system. This seems 

 at first glance impossible, but it is never- 

 theless a fact. A gain of fifteen per cent 

 m the productive capacity of land is not 

 to be ignored. Many merchants handle 

 goods on a margin of fifteen per cent, and 

 many farmers may find that fifteen per 

 cent turns the scale in their profit and 

 loss account. There are other practical 

 advantages in the Septuple system. As the 

 trees come in equally spaced rows, in four 

 different ways, they may be cultivated 

 with advantage in as many directions, 

 making each cultivation criss-cross sever- 

 al others. In irrigating, water may some- 

 times be run down the diagonal rows with 

 great advantage. Especially is this true 

 where the orchard is located on sloping 

 land and the fall is too great to allow the 

 running of water down the straight rows. 



