THE FARM ORCHARD 
55 
until they are set. The month of November is rec¬ 
ommended as the best month for planting fruit trees 
in the South. Farther north, the month of March is 
the most favorable. 
Before placing into the hole, broken or dead roots 
should be removed with a sharp knife from the tree. 
The roots should be spread naturally with the soil 
carefully worked in around them. The trunk of the tree 
stands in a vertical position. When the hole is half 
full of earth, it is tamped or pressed down. Com¬ 
plete the filling, packing the soil until even with the 
surface. A little loose earth should be heaped about 
the trunk to keep away the mice and rabbits. Cut 
back the top, for apples, until the tree is about two 
feet high, for peaches, plums, and apricots, until they 
are about eighteen inches high. Nursery tags injure 
the tree and ought to be removed at the time of plant¬ 
ing. 
Cultivation. —The time to begin cultivation is soon 
after the orchard is planted. If the soil is pulverized 
and free from weeds, deep cultivation will not be needed. 
By keeping the soil loose about each tree, moisture will 
be conserved. Implements have been designed to pro¬ 
vide thorough cultivation. A very common method 
of cultivation is with a one-horse cultivator; care should 
be taken to avoid injuring young trees. If no crops 
are grown in the orchard, frequent harrowing or disk¬ 
ing is advisable. The application of mulches and fertil¬ 
izers aid greatly in securing a vigorous growth. Poor 
soils may require a straw mulch about each tree. 
Chickens often aid in cultivating an orchard by de¬ 
stroying insects and by scratching. Shallow cultiva¬ 
tion is more profitable than very deep plowing after 
