75 



PLANTING AND PRUNING. 



Essay by Mr. John Roch, Chico. 



By your permission, I will offer a few hints on transplanting and pruning, 

 and will try to be as brief as possible, so as not to tax your patience. 



Nurserymen having received so much undeserved blame from the unsuc- 

 cessful tree planter, whose lack of success has been owing chiefly to mis- 

 management, has led me to give a few ideas under the following heads: 



First — Preparation of the Soil. — When you have made up your mind to 

 plant an orchard, unless the ground is new, the land should be enriched 

 by the application of fertilizers, such as lime, wood ashes, guano, or a 

 heavy coat of well rotted manure. Very deep plowing is necessary; put 

 on four or five animals, and use a good strong, sixteen-inch plow, and put 

 it down to the beams; then follow in the same furrow with a subsoil plow, 

 and put that down four inches more, and your plowing is complete. 



In case the ground is inclined to be wet, it must be thoroughly drained. 

 If you want thrifty, growing trees, prepare your ground well, and I assure 

 you you will be abundantly repaid for your labor when your orchard comes 

 into bearing. Dig the holes three feet wide and two feet deep. The trees 

 should remain with the roots covered until this is done. Put no manure 

 in contact with the roots. 



Second — The Preparation of the Trees when Received from the Nursery. — In 

 regard to this important operation there are more fatal errors committed 

 than in any other. 



Boxes or bales should at once be unpacked, the bundle separated and 

 heeled in, as termed by nurserymen, which is done in the following man- 

 ner: Dig a trench two feet wide and fourteen inches deep, set in your trees 

 and cover the roots well, and do not take up more trees from the trench 

 than what you want for immediate planting, and by all means do not 

 expose the roots to sun or wind. Should your trees arrive late in the 

 spring in a dried up or shriveled condition, lay them on the ground and 

 cover them with straw, hay, or old sacking; wet the covering thoroughly 

 two or three times a day; let them remain three or four days, then plant 

 and trim the tops back well, and they will as a rule start and grow all 

 right. 



Third — Pruning at the Time of Planting. — In removing a tree, no matter 

 how careful it may be done, a portion of the roots will be broken and 

 destroyed. These should be pruned by a cut from the underside (not 

 with a shear but with a good sharp pruning knife) ; having done this, 

 lessen the top in proportion, for the demand upon the roots must not be 

 more than they can supply. 



A large majority of trees that are planted are not cut back half enough, 

 thus pruning should be adapted according to the size, form, and condition 

 of the tree. This enables the remaining buds to push with vigor, as it 

 lessens the demand upon the roots. Close pruning will induce strong, 

 vigorous growth. 



