1909.] 



Planting of Fruit Trees. 



939 



trees planted by many different people in various soils and 

 under various conditions. The general results show that 

 when ramming is adopted, the new wood formed by the tree 

 in the first year after planting is about 40 per cent, more 

 than when planted in the orthodox manner, and that this 

 superiority becomes further increased in the second year. 

 The actual shoots, too, are thicker in the case of the rammed 

 trees; and the excess of branch formation is accompanied by, 

 and is, no doubt, the consequence of, a similar excess of root 

 formation. During the first part of the season after planting, 

 however, there is no excess of branch-formation, often the 

 reverse, this period of inferiority being due to the drain 

 caused on the store of reserve material in the tree by the 

 increased number of new rootlets which are being formed. 

 It is not till after these have come into existence that they 

 can affect the growth of the branches, and in some cases their 

 effect may not be felt till the second season after planting. 



The result of ramming will naturally depend somewhat on 

 the nature of the soil, and where it is very light and sandy it 

 can have little or no effect. 



Deep Planting. — Roots require air as well as water for their 

 well-being, and with each sort of tree, and with each class of 

 soil, there is a certain depth below the surface which is most 

 favourable for root-growth. Experiments to test this were 

 made by planting stocks at different depths in the soil, when 

 it was found that in the case of the deeply planted ones, the 

 original roots did not develop, or actually died off. In the 

 case of paradise stocks, where adventitious roots are easily 

 formed, this deep planting resulted in benefit to the tree, 

 though the results were found to depend to a large extent on 

 the nature of the soil. With stocks that do not easily throw 

 out adventitious roots, the reverse would be the case. 



Trenching. — The experiments as regards trenching are at 

 present considered to be inconclusive. The Report, however, 

 suggests that deep cultivation will probably benefit trees only 

 in cases where it materially improves the drainage, and where 

 the subsoil is sufficiently rich to form a suitable medium for 

 root-development. In other cases it is better to confine the 

 roots as far as is possible to the surface. 

 Planting Above the Ground Level, — With a shallow soil 



