398 
Z>'he  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
March  4,  191G. 
Red.  Side 
Wall  and 
l  ins  exclusive 
color  combination 
is  tke  result  of  lon^ 
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life  to  the  fabric.  / 
l  Increased  toughness  is  an-  / 
\  other  advantage  which  / 
results  in  further  /  > 
added  mileage.  /  /y 
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Orchard  Drainage 
Part  I. 
Need  of  Drainage.' — The  writer  has 
made  careful  observation,  particularly  of 
the  surface,  natural  and  artificial  drain¬ 
age,  of  such  localities  as  Champlain  Lalce, 
Hudson  River  Valley,  Finger  Lake 
region,  southern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario 
and  the  justly  famous  fruit  section  of 
Westfield,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Erie.  Of  course  we  recognize  the  fact 
that  these  and  other  places  also,  have 
certain  favorable  fruit  growing  condi¬ 
tions,  sueli  as  climate,  air  drainage,  soil, 
sunshine,  exposure,  slope,  porosity  of 
soil  and  subsoil,  etc.,  all  of  which  are 
more  or  less  ideally  combined.  Where 
nature  has  specially  fitted  a  section  of 
her  domain,  in  whole  or  part,  to  fruit 
growing  and  all  nature  is  with  him,  the 
experienced  orchardist  can  in  quality, 
quantify  and  price  far  excel  competitors 
outside  of  such  boundaries.  Compared 
with  the  total  land  area  of  the  world 
these  favorable  localities  are  few  aud 
rare  indeed.  Aud  to  drain  systematical¬ 
ly  these  entire  areas,  without  regard  to 
the  needs  of  the  land,  would  involve  con¬ 
siderable  loss  in  labor  and  expense.  Yet 
right  iu  the  midst  of  these  veritable 
Gardens  of  Eden  wet  areas  too  frequent¬ 
ly  exist.  However,  it  is  not  of  the 
favored  side,  but  of  some  of  the  unfavor¬ 
able  wet  soils  confronting  orcharding, 
that  this  article  attempts  to  deal  with. 
Effects  of  Wet  Sou.. — To  the  ob¬ 
serving  drainage  man  all  nature  mani¬ 
fests  and  talks  in  orchard  and  field,  in 
various  ways  and  in  certain  unmistakable 
language.  Nature  testifies  to  the  need  of 
drainage  in  the  orchard  by  dwarfed,  dy¬ 
ing,  dead  and  missing  trees,  (strangled 
and  suffocated  to  death)  slow  and  feeble 
growth,  poor  off-color  foliage,  a  general 
sickly  appearance,  beyond  help  and  in¬ 
curable,  except  by  a  prompt  aud  vigor¬ 
ous  application  of  fresh  ai,r  and  warmth 
to  the  soil,  the  very  lungs  and  feet  of  a 
tree,  or  plant,  by  and  through  the 
medium  of  plain  drain  tile.  This  condi¬ 
tion  of  trees  is  plainly  evident,  from  the 
distance,  before  getting  onto  the  ground. 
For  the  proof  and  a  demonstration  of 
the  foregoing  assertion,  i.t  is  suggested, 
that  the  reader  compare  in  the  orchard 
the  vigorous  and  fruitful  trees  with  those 
in  the  valleys  and  sags.  If  there  is  no 
contrast  and  one*  tree  is  as  good  as  an¬ 
other,  surely  drainage  is  not  needed.  Yet 
the  fact  still  remains  that  there  are 
very  few  orchards  in  which  a  little  drain¬ 
age  would  not  be  profitable.  As  a  gen¬ 
eral  proposition,  iu  good  orchard  lands, 
even  where  nature  has  provided  very 
good  soil  drainage  a  line  of  tile,  laid  up 
through  the  water  Courses  and  valleys, 
with  spur  linos  into  the  sags  and  depres¬ 
sions  will  invariably  afford  efficient  drain¬ 
age  and  pay  handsomely,  in  addition  to 
what  nature  lias  done.  But  for  heavier 
and  rather  fiat  lands,  inclined  to  retain 
excessive  water,  partial  or  complete 
drainage  is  required  for  best  results. 
Principj.es  Involved.  —  The  same 
principles  used  in  laying  out  field  drain¬ 
age  are  applicable  to  the  orchard,  ex¬ 
cept  that  the  laterals  and  mains  should 
always  be  placed  midway  between  tree 
rows,  or  as  far  away  from  trees  as  prac¬ 
ticable.  Also  the  entire  drain  system 
should  be  placed  at  least  six  inches  deep¬ 
er  than  in  field  practice,  in  order  that 
tree  roots  may  not  enter  the  drains  and 
cause  stoppage  and  trouble.  Three  and 
one-half  to  four  feet  is  none  too  deep 
for  efficient  and  enduring  orchard  drain¬ 
age,  also  depending  on  the  soil  and  sub¬ 
soil,  fall  and  distance  apart  of  tree  rows. 
The  closer  trees  arc  set,  the  deeper  the 
roots  go,  also  more  roots  per  cubic  foot 
of  soij.  However,  roots  enter  a  tile 
line  in  the  search  of  drink  and  food. 
Where  shallow  drains  carry  spring  or 
constant  water,  tree  aud  Alfalfa  roots 
(and  even  farm  crop  roots  occasionally) 
are  liable,  iu  dry  season,  to  clog  up  a 
drain  completely.  Therefore  drain  deep. 
Distance  Apart. — For  heavy  retentive 
soils  a  lateral  between  every  tree  row 
35  to  50  feet  apart,  is  usually  neces¬ 
sary  and  efficient.  A  safe  way  for  lighter, 
open  and  damp  soils  is  to  place  a  lateral 
drain  between  every  other  tree  row,  70 
to  100  feet  apart,  which  may  give  ef¬ 
fectual  drainage.  If  it  does  not  later 
more  drains  can  be  placed  just  where  na¬ 
ture  calls  for  them.  As  a  rule  the  drains 
should  run  straight  up  and  down  the 
slope.  If  at  all  practicable  all  the  lat¬ 
erals  Should  empty  into  a  common  main 
with  the  outlet  at  the  lowest  point. 
Establish  outlet  in  i  Concrete  abutment, 
and  provide  outlet  with  screen  rods  to 
prevent  water-loving  animals  from  enter¬ 
ing,  on  an  exploring  expedition.  One 
outlet  is  better  than  several,  and  much 
less  trouble  and  expense  to  maintain. 
T.  E.  MARTIN. 
Wasting  Planting  Space 
One  fault  and  mistake  our  brother 
farmers  make  is  that  of  waste  and  prod¬ 
igality  in  the  use  of  space  in  the  plant¬ 
ing  of  an  orchard,  field  or  garden,  and 
the  tendency  is  to  waste  ground  need¬ 
lessly.  It  is  my  object  to  show  greater 
economy  may  he  obtained  by  a  system 
of  planting  not  usually  adopted  by  the 
average  planter,  but  which  is  just  as  easy 
to  carry  out  as  the  ordinary  method, 
and  far  more  economical. 
By  way  of  illustration,  I  show  in  the 
accompanying  sketch  two  jilots  of 
38  trees' 
Square  and  Quincunx  Planting 
ground,  one  planted  in  the  ordinary 
square  method,  the  other  in  the  quin¬ 
cunx  or  break-join  system.  The  two 
plots  are  the  same,  each  28x16  feet, 
and  for  purpose  of  comparison  the  two 
are  four  feet  apart.  In  the  upper  sketch 
the  plot  of  ground  is  planted  in  the 
square  method,  containing  eight  rows 
of  five  trees  each;  40  trees.  In  the 
second  sketch  there  are  five  rows  of 
trees,  three  containing  eight  trees,  two 
seven  trees;  38  trees  in  all;  and  it  will 
he  observed  that  the  trees  are  all  four 
feet  apart,  as  in  the  square  method,  and 
that  there  is  an  extra  two  feet  of  space 
or  half  a  row  left,  which  in  a  second 
plot,  if  the  same  size,  would  allow  of  the 
planting  of  an  additional  row  of  seven 
trees  so  that  in  the  planting  of  two 
such  plots  there  is  a  gain  of  seven  trees, 
which,  when  it  come  sto  figuring  on  the 
basis  of  acres,  becomes  a  factor  worth 
considering  indeed. 
There  is  no  disadvantage  in  the  sec¬ 
ond  method  at  all,  for  the  trees  are  all 
the  same  distance  apart;  and  the  culti¬ 
vation  is  just  the  same  in  every  way. 
The  planting  is  just  as  easy,  in  fact 
easier.  We  make  an  equilateral  triangle 
of  strips  as  shown  iu  the  base  of  the 
sketch,  16  feet  on  a  side;  that  i,s  the 
distance  apart  we.  iu  Michigan,  plant 
peach  trees,  aud  starting  on  the  base  line 
A  B,  we  plant  a  tree  at  the  angle  of 
the  triangle,  and  the  thing  is  done.  It 
has  been  found  in  practice  to  bo  a  better 
method  than  the  square,  as  the  triangle 
is  an  infallible  guide,  and  the  rows  are 
always  the  same,  which  is  not  the  case 
by  any  means  with  the  square  method; 
as  w'e  know,  great  care  is  necessary  to 
keep  the  rows  in  line. 
A V lien  .such  trees  as  apple  are  set  and 
tlm  rows  are  40  feet  apart  we  use  a 
cord,  ticing  a  stake  at  the  angles  of  the 
triangle.  Herman  iiaupt,  jr. 
Michigan. 
