PLANTING OF FRUIT TREES IN THE DRY LANDS OF CHILE. 585 



the young plant. An indispensable condition for success is that 

 the planting should be done early, at the beginning of winter. 



If it is a matter of planting trees raised in pots, the holes should 

 be made a little deeper than necessary, in order to leave the plant 

 4 to 6 inches below the surface level, so that the roots are under- 

 neath the very dry top spit in the dry season. This system of 

 planting from pots in our test plantations on the coast of Melipilla 

 has given very good results, very superior to the plantations of small 

 plants from the seed-beds, which require a certain amount of care 

 and skill on the part of the planter. In planting on hillsides, after 

 pressing the earth round the plants, it is advisable to form a sort of 

 cup, the lower edge of which is raised on account of the fall of the 

 land. This cup serves to collect the winter rainfall, making it penetrate 

 deeper. If this cup is covered with straw or leaves, the earth retains 

 its moisture for a much longer time. Plantations should be entirely 

 surrounded with wooden or wire fencing, as this is the only way to pre- 

 serve them from being destroyed by animals. If at the time of planting 

 the weather is unusually dry, it is necessary to water the trees by means 

 of small carts or animals carrying the water ; in general a couple of 

 gallons of water is sufficient for each tree, and care must be taken 

 that the water is poured into the cups. It is best to begin planting 

 at the bottom of the hills, where there are usually streams of water 

 and the soil is moister. If all the hillside cannot be planted in the 

 same year it is convenient to plant them in horizontal portions from 

 the bottom upwards. The young trees should not be taller than 

 from 2 to 2 h feet, according to the kind ; those that have given us the 

 best result against drought are the following, in the order expressed : — 

 Of the Eucalypti, E. resinifera, E. robusta, E. Globulus ; of the Pines, 

 Pinus insignis, P. Pinaster, and P. canariensis ; of the Cypresses, 

 Cupressus macrocarpa and C. torulosa ; of the Acacias, A. melanoxylon 

 and A. dealbata. The ordinary Acacia (Robinia) has not given good 

 results, nor has Pinus canariensis, on account of its having a very 

 long root, making it difficult to take up out of the seed-bed without 

 breaking. It should be planted only from pots or in another way 

 which we will describe later on. 



The previous data refer, as we have said, to the planting of forest 

 trees, principally evergreens, on dry lands. If 4 feet 9 inches is adopted 

 as the distance apart, it gives about 7000 trees to a caudra (4 acres). 

 With regard to planting fruit trees, if they can be helped by watering 

 to make a good root start it is evident that 625 fruit trees to a caudra 

 at about 16 1 feet apart would be a more productive way of employing 

 the necessary labour required for hand-watering than making planta- 

 tions of forest trees, because in the first place we cover 4 acres and 

 in the second 44 acres with the same amount of water. Hence we 

 recommend planting the better class of soil with fruit, and the inferior 

 with forest, trees. 



Two reasons led me to experiment with a new process of planting 

 forests on dry land by means of drawing out tree roots grown in 



