Preparing the Ground 
Land that has been in some culti¬ 
vated farm or garden crop is usually in 
the best condition for fruit trees and 
plants. Plow deep and work the ground 
thoroughly. 
An ideal soil, mellow, deep, fertile 
loam, is not often available and it may 
even be necessary to go to considerable 
trouble to improve the dirt you have; 
for instance, for fruit trees dig a hole 
2 feet in diameter, throwing the surface 
soil to one side, then digging out the 
subsoil to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, 
putting it in a pile by itself. Then 
throw in a few shovelfuls of well-de¬ 
cayed manure. Next throw in the sur¬ 
face soil. In this set the tree and use 
other surface soil to fill the hole. The 
other pile of subsoil can be scattered 
on the surface. Well-rotted manure, 
wood ashes and ground bone or cotton¬ 
seed meal can be mixed in with the 
surface soil used to fill the hole, but 
care should be taken to avoid having 
too much of any fertilizer come in con¬ 
tact with the roots. For gooseberries 
and currants the holes should be about 
2 feet in diameter and for raspberries 
and blackberries dig a trench 15 to 18 
inches wide. 
Planting Trees on Arrival 
If possible plant at once. 
If the weather is too cold, put the box 
or bundle in a cool but frost-proof 
cellar. 
If the weather is warm and you are 
not ready to plant, unpack at once and 
place the stock in a cool cellar, cover¬ 
ing the roots with damp packing from 
the box or bundle and spread old sacks 
or canvas over them. Sprinkle enough 
water on the trees to keep them from 
drying out. but do not drench the roots 
and tops. If possible heel them in, pref¬ 
erably at the north side of a building 
where they will have protection from 
the sun and their development will be 
retarded. 
Heeling in Trees 
Select a well-drained location. Dig a 
trench deep enough and wide enough 
to hold the roots without crowding. 
Fine, moist soil should be packed 
rather firmly about the roots. Then 
heap more soil on the roots and a third 
or more of the tops. Some growers 
completely cover the trees. If the 
ground is too dry, moisten the dirt 
about the roots. Some growers get their 
trees in the fall and heel them in over 
winter so as to be sure to have them 
on hand when conditions are right for 
planting in the spring. 
Treatment for “Dried-Out” Trees 
Sometimes trees are somewhat dried 
out in transit but can be restored by 
burying them in wet dirt or put in a 
pond for one to three days. 
Handling Trees at Planting 
Success is largely a matter of avoid¬ 
ing exposure of roots and tops to the 
sun or drying winds, and to thorough 
firming the soil about the roots. Cut 
off any bruised or broken ends and 
shorten any roots that are extra long 
and put the trees at once in a barrel or 
tub about one-fourth full of water. 
Some use a semi-liquid of water and 
dirt (not heavy clay). 
Planting Distances 
Some varieties need more room when 
full grown than others of same kind. 
Yellow Transparent, a small upright 
grower, and Rhode Island Greening, a 
large spreading tree, represent ex¬ 
tremes in apple trees. 
Apple.30 ft. apart 
Cherry.20 ft. apart 
Peach or Plum.20 ft. apart 
Pear, Standard.20 ft. apart 
Plants Rows 
Blackberry. 5' 7' 
Black Raspberry 
. .. . 4' 
6' 
Red Raspberry.. 
. . . . 3' 
5' 
Currant. 
. . . . 4' 
6' 
Gooseberry .... 
.. .. 5' 
6' 
Grape. 
. . .. 8' 
10' 
Strawberry. . . . 
... .iy 2 ' to 3' 
3y 2 ' to 4' 
Asparagus. 
_ 15" 
3' 
Rhubarb. 
_ 2' 
4' 
To determine 
number of 
trees per 
acre for any given distance, multiply 
distance between trees in row by width 
of row. Take resulting answer and di¬ 
vide 43,560 by it. For example: To de¬ 
termine number of trees, planted 30x30, 
required t© set one acre. 30x30 = 900. 
43,560 = 900 = 49 trees per acre. 
Setting the Trees 
Assuming that the ground has been 
properly prepared, it will not be neces¬ 
sary to dig large holes. 12 to 18 inches 
square and about the same depth will 
be large enough for the average size 
apple tree. 
The top soil should be put to one side 
so that it can be used to fill in about 
the roots. 
After a tree has been placed in its 
exact position and about as deep as it 
stood in the nursery, the roots are 
spread out and good top soil worked 
under and around them. Moving the 
tree slightly up and down will help to 
get the soil under the roots. Then fill 
the hole half full and tramp the soil 
firmly. After this fill the hole to the 
top and again tramp the soil. Lastly 
throw a few shovelfuls of loose dirt 
about the tree to prevent loss of 
moisture. 
If you have to plant when the ground 
is very dry a bucket of water should 
be poured around the roots after they 
have been well covered but before the 
hole is filled. Ordinarily watering is 
not necessary and might do more harm 
than good. 
Don’t put manure or other fertilizer 
in the holes in contact with the roots; 
spread it on the ground around the 
tree. 
Care of Transplanted Trees 
The first two years is the critical 
period. It is of vital importance to have 
them make a good start, for summer 
drought is likely to prove fatal to trees 
of low vigor and slow growth. So it is 
necessary to cultivate thoroughly and 
systematically to conserve the moisture 
and aerate the soil. The first summer 
the soil should be frequently stirred to 
make a soil mulch and prevent baking 
and crusting of the surface. The second 
summer the ground should first be 
plowed deep, as early in the spring as 
possible. Cultivation should be stopped 
about July 15th to August 1st that the 
trees may have time to mature and 
harden in preparation for winter. 
Rabbit and Mice Protection 
The best way is to put around the 
trunk a roll of galvanized wire cloth 
of one-fourth inch mesh. Many use 
paper but remove it in late spring. 
Some have found it effective to paint 
the trunks with Lime Sulphur and 
Arsenate of Lead. 
Mice injury can be prevented by 
keeping any weeds or grass away from 
the trunk or by wire protectors which 
should be pushed into the ground a 
couple of inches. 
Fruit Tree “Fillers” 
Fillers are trees set between apple 
trees, and may be cherry or peach or 
young-bearing, smaller growing apple 
trees like Yellow Transparent, Duchess 
of Oldenburg, Wagener, Wealthy, King 
David. Cherry and peach are not as 
desirable as apple because the methods 
of handling, especially spraying, are 
different. 
Of course, filler trees must be re¬ 
moved when they begin to crowd the 
permanent trees. There should be no 
more hesitation about cutting out the 
fillers than in removal of a limb at 
pruning time. 
Make the land between the young trees 
l»ay dividends. 
INTERCROPS 
Fruit trees do not use all the ground 
the first few years and various crops 
are sometimes used to secure earlier 
returns from the land. Annual crops 
such as early beets, turnips, radishes, 
peas and beans are good, but late vege¬ 
tables should be avoided since they re¬ 
quire late cultivation, which prevents 
the trees from maturing properly be¬ 
fore cold weather. Currants, goose¬ 
berries, strawberries and raspberries 
have also produced good results. With 
strawberries there is danger that the 
trees will not receive proper cultiva¬ 
tion after the first season. 
Grain crops should never be used. 
A space 6 to 8 ft. should be left un¬ 
planted along each row of trees and 
increased in width each year. 
Of course, if intercrops are grown, 
more liberal fertilization must be given. 
“I enclose picture of my peach orchard. Many trees made 5-foot growth the first season; other things have 
done equally well,” writes C. C. Brooks, Supt., Navajo Methodist Mission School, Farmington, New Mexico. 
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