October 29, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
359 
N OVEMBER, the best month of the year for planting fruit 
trees, will soon be here, and a reminder now to planters of 
two points of special importance in fruit culture, which are often 
ignored even by old practitioners, but which are worthy of our 
best attention, will, I hope, prove useful. 
They are worthy of prominence, because early planting points 
to the early establishment of the trees in the soil, while shelter 
points to the protection of the blossom from the cold scathing 
winds from the north-east, which are so prevalent in spring, and to 
that of the fruit from autumnal sou’-westers, which so frequently 
sweep the fruit from the branches of orchard trees just as it is 
approaching maturity. 
Standing on the northern slope of a Leicestershire valley one 
evening in the last week of August this year, during a violent gale 
of wind, I watched with interest the branches of the timber trees 
dashed together by the fury of the storm, which came rushing up 
the valley from the south-west, with a noise like the roaring of a 
high sea. One could not but think of the damage and loss which 
such a storm must cause as it swept through any orchard in its 
course—damage which might so easily be avoided, and loss which 
ought not to be incurred from such a cause. 
Why is it that shelter has so little attention in fruit culture ? 
This is a question which I for one cannot answer. The importance 
of shelter is so self-evident that one would suppose it would have 
at least equal care with the planting of the fruit trees. 
Now the due provision of shelter is a very simple matter. With 
the planting of an orchard or fruit plantation there should also be 
the planting of shelter belts enclosing small orchards, enclosing 
and dividing large ones. The tree best adapted for this purpose is 
Lombardy Poplar by its erect habit, the rapidity of its growth, 
and the earliness with which it comes into leaf in spring. 
A double row of it, or rather two rows, so planted that each 
tree forms a triangle with the two nearest it ia the other row, 
makes a tolerably efficient barrier, calculated to break the force of 
high winds sufficiently to prevent damage to fruit. But when 
space can be had a belt of three or four rows of Austrian Pines 
outside the two rows of Lombardy Poplar is most desirable, 
especially for shelter from cold cutting winds in spring. 
I give preference to Pinus austriaca for this purpose, both for 
its dense growth and because trees of it, 6 or 7 feet high, transplant 
so well that it soon attains a useful height. But it should never be 
used as a substitute for the Poplar ; that is the tree of trees for 
our purpose, and double rows of it might be made to intersect 
others in large orchards, dividing the orchards into squares of, say, 
a hundred feet in diameter, the loss of space being more than 
counterbalanced by the efficient shelter thus obtained. 
For small plots hedges of the Myrobalan Plum answer 
admirably. It is of a singularly robust vigorous growth, soon 
affording shelter, for it may be clipped as freely as the common 
Hawthorn. If space can be had it may be left to grow unpruned 
in view of obtaining fruit from it in large quantities. 
Conjointly with the provision of shelter belts, attention should 
be given to the selection of fruit trees easy to shelter. The best 
of all forms for general purposes in fruit farming is undoubtedly 
the half standard, with its stem of about 4 feet in height ; the 
branches are elevated just sufficiently to render them most 
No. 592.—VOL. XXIII., Thibd Sekies. 
accessible for all purposes of cultivation ; they are open to the full 
action of light and air ; the fruit is easily thinned, easily gathered, 
and easily sheltered from high winds. 
In grass orchards only should lofty standards find a place in 
fruit culture, for there and there only have we a good and sufficient 
reason for their existence. 
It should also, I think, be strongly impressed upon those whom 
we hope to induce to devote some part of the land they own or 
hire to fruit farming, that every sunny slope, every sheltered nook 
is of account in fruit culture. Do we find that such natural 
advantages have been turned to account ? We do not. One could 
point to a hundred hillsides, valley slopes, and hollows, some with 
natural barriers to cold winds, others requiring only a little 
judicious tree-planting to render them perfect for the culture of 
early soft fruits. 
Turn them to full account for this purpose, and the fruit will 
be ready for market several days — aye, and in some cases even 
weeks—before that grown under ordinary conditions. This points 
so certainly to profitable results, that it is certain to have a leading 
place in fruit farming wherever it is possible. 
I am bound to say that the importance of early planting cannot 
be estimated too highly. So repeatedly have I proved this in my 
own practice that one wonders it has not long ago had more general 
recognition. Fruit trees planted early in November make root 
growth at once. Let us see what this means to the intelligent 
planter. 
His aim in planting early is to have the trees sufficiently 
established in the soil to promote free, vigorous, unchecked growth 
in the following spring and summer, so that the tree may take full 
advantage of the first season of growth after the planting. To 
enable it to do this in the best way the shoots are thinned if 
necessary, and shortened to those buds which are in the best 
position for branch growth. 
When the rising temperature of spring causes the buds to swell, 
to grow, to put forth leaves, stored up sap is drawn from the 
adjacent wood tissues, and so on downwards to the roots. Then 
comes the crucial test of the planter’s work. If this has been done 
well and early in autumn the tree will have put forth rootlets 
bristling with root hairs, through which it takes in food from the 
soil, and so the demands for sustenance from the soil will be met 
promptly and fully, branch growth will continue unchecked, and 
become so robust and vigorous that really fine heads will be formed 
in the first season of growth. There is no doubt or difficulty what¬ 
ever about this matter if only the trees are planted early and well, 
and are pruned at the time of planting, though some experienced 
cultivators prefer shortening the branches in spring. 
If, on the contrary, the trees have none of these cultural 
advantages, are left unpruned, are planted late, they are practically 
in a state of stagnation in the following summer. They put forth 
some leaves, but there is no appreciable growth, a season is lost, 
nor can any good reason be advanced for this wasted year. There 
is always due balance and proportion between branch and root 
growth, and in the early planted trees there is root action as 
vigorous as that of the branches, so that when growth ceases in the’ 
autumn they have plenty of roots to afford ample supplies of food 
to the branches in the following spring. 
There stand the trees, then, pictures of health, models of skilful 
culture, requiring nothing but a sufficient thinning of branch 
growth to leave only enough on the tree to form a well balanced 
head, for these are the main branches, and they must be thinned 
freely and judiciously. 
I have said that to ensure such desirable results the trees must 
be planted early and well. By this is meant not the si male act of 
planting only, but fertile well drained soil, keeping the rons mo st 
and as little exposed to the air as possible from the tim^ t) < y are 
received from the nursery till they are planted. I have freq' ently 
had occasion to give the roots a thorough soaking with w ter as 
No. 2248.—Yol. LXXXV , Old Series; 
