SETTING THE TREES 
19 
Protect the Roots 
When the trees are taken out into the field, protect the roots from 
exposure. A half-hour of hot sunshine on the roots of a tree may kill it. 
Cover them with wet sacks or packing out of the box in which they came. 
Another good plan is to fill a tank about one-fourth full of water and put 
the trees in the tank. When the weather is hot and the buds swollen you 
should be especially careful not to get any water on the enlarged buds as 
it might injure them. 
Digging the Holes and Setting the Trees 
The tree should be set in the orchard at about the same depth that 
it stood in the nursery. In very sandy soils that are inclined to dry out 
quickly, they should be set from 2 to 4 inches deeper, depending on the 
size of the trees. Trees set in the fall may be set several inches deeper 
than spring-set trees. Another exception is dwarf pear, which should be 
planted deeper than it stood in the nursery. Dwarf pears are budded on 
quince roots in order to make them dwarfish-growing trees. The union 
is not as strong on these dwarf trees as on standard pears budded on 
pear roots, and so, to prevent the tree from blowing over after it grows 
two or threfe years, the swelling where the pear is joined on to the quince 
root should come 2 or 3 inches below the surface of the ground. Do not 
set the tree any deeper than this; if you do, roots will develop on the 
pear wood, and as soon as the pear develops roots of its own it is not 
dependent on the quince roots and ceases to be a dwarf. 
The holes for the trees should be large enough to take all the roots 
in their natural position. A common practice is to plow furrows across 
the orchard in both directions, so the furrows cross wherever a tree is 
to be set. This does not make the holes deep enough, but they can be 
enlarged with a spade. Others plow just one way and mark the places 
where the trees are to go along the furrows. 
Where there are strong prevailing winds that always come from the 
same direction, some orchardists lean their trees slightly in that di- 
rection when they plant. Others lean them towards the southwest so as 
to shade the trunks of the trees from the afternoon sun, which is an 
advantage in the Central and Southern States. The trees can be set 
straight and the-same results obtained by the following method. No mat- 
ter how straight or symmetrical a tree is, it will always be heavier on one 
side than on the other, so that the pith of the tree is not up the center of 
tho trunk, but rather to one side. Balance the tree on your hand and the 
heavy side of the tree will naturally roll toward the ground. This side 
should be planted towards the southwest, or the prevaihng winds. The tree 
will then bend very easily towards the southwest or the prevailing winds. 
Planting this side towards the southwest enables the tree to stand up 
much better against the wind and the blistering sunlight. „„ , . 
The tree should be held in place while the dirt is being filled in 
around the roots. It is an advantage to fill in the holes with the rich 
top soil. Don't dump a big shovelful of dirt in on top of the roots so that 
all the roots are squeezed together in the bottom of the hole, but hold the 
shovel high and shake off a little of the dirt at a time, so it sifts in about 
the roots. In this way, the roots take their natural position and are sur- 
rounded by fine dirt. Work the dirt in about the roots of the tree and 
move the tree slightly, so as to settle the soil without leaving any air- 
pockets. Press the dirt firmly about the roots. 
Tho roots will grow better where the dirt has been packed down good 
and firm. Don't dump all the dirt in the hole and then try to pack it; for 
