10 
ORCHARD SITES 
where the valley is very broad, so that the cold air can not accumulate in 
one place. Very fine apples are raised in the Shenandoah Valley of Vir- 
ginia. However, the slopes of the mountains are considered better. Fruit 
may be grown high up in the mountains, but, as a general rule, fruit trees 
should not be planted at an elevation of over 5,000 feet above sea level, 
although there are successful orchards at 6,000 to 7,000 feet above sea 
level, usually protected by neighboring mountain ridges. 
A good slope is not only less subject to frost injury, but the surface 
water drains off readily so that the slope has a "warmer," "sweeter" soil 
and produces fruit of high color and good quality. However, a field may 
have a good slope and still be poorly drained. Such an exception is 
where the subsoU is a very tight, impervious clay or shale, which does not 
let the water pass through it. On the other hand, some level lands are 
well drained, but they are nearly always porous, very sandy soils, or a 
porous loam, which allows the rain to soak through nearly as fast as it 
falls. Any land upon which water stands for any length of time is usually 
unfit for fruit-growing purposes. In irrigated regions all troubles with 
alkali soils are caused by poor drainage. 
The importance of "exposure" has been greatly exaggerated. If a 
location has good air drainage and good water drainage, it is of no great 
importance whether it slopes north, south, east, or west. There are a few 
exceptions. It is sometimes important in the middle latitudes, where 
there is damage from spring frosts and sun-scald. South slopes will some- 
times ripen the fruit a little earlier, and this is important in the case of 
the earliest-ripening varieties. Northern slopes are sometimes better 
where there is a great deal of injury from sun-scald. A gentle slope is to 
be preferred to a very steep one, and is less apt to wash. But the most im- 
portant thing is to have a location that is free from spring frosts, and 
has good air and water drainage. To get this location fruit-growers often 
spend several times the original price of the land to clear it of stones and 
stumps, and to fit it for planting. They often plant on soil that is very 
poor and contains a great deal of rock, for these conditions can be 
remedied. 
A good location must be: First, reasonably free from late spring frosts: 
second, the land should be naturally well drained, and. third, the soil deep 
enough to nourish the trees, and prevent them from being injured by summer 
drouths and severe winters. If the soli Is fertile, so much the better. How- 
ever, It Is not necessary if you have the first three conditions, because fer- 
tilizers can be used to take care of the trees' fmmedlate needs when they 
are set out. and the fertility of the entire soil built up later by cover crops 
and manuring. 
