The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-06-12
HOUSE, FARM AND GARDEN.
Setting Ont Trees,

'.. Setting Ont Trees. '.''
The following practical directions for
transplantlug fruit trees are furnished by
r Barry, OF the Mount Hope nurseries,
to the Rochester Democrat: -. S:s'.> :
The Soil Of Fruit Zssees;.-The ;a,, AVERAGE; af,t;
soil to be found in the garden Of aSv
part of our city is good enough in its NAT
ural state. All it needs is, "A good deem
plowing Or spading, to fit it for trees, Il
must be free from, stagnant water No
>ne would think Of permitting the. garden
which surrounds his dwelling to remain q
swamp. For healths sake the drainage
must be perfect. The health of fruit
trees requires this too. .,.,..
l. Hon. to Plant.-Inexper1enced persons
are very apt to make great fuss over the
planting OF tree; or they will run to the
other extreme and cram it into the ground
as they would bean pole. Very COM
mon errors are planting too deeply
and applying manure around the roots.
NO manure is needed at time Of plant
ing-wait till the trees get to growing
and then apply the manure, if needed.
on the surface Of the ground over the
roots. Dig hole large enough and deep
enough to receive the roots, spread out
IN their natural way, and so that the tree
WI stand no deeper in the ground than
1t dld IN the nnrsery; than fill in good
surface earth among the roots carefully,
hlllng every space. When the spaces are
all filled al the roots covered, then be-
gin to pack the earth as it goes in, and
keep packing firmly till the work is COM
plete. 10 the errors have already men-
tloned-dcep planting, and manure at
the roots-l will add the other-Ioose
planting, which is very general and very
fatal. Don't be afraid of making the
earth too firm about the roots.
Tile Use Water in Planting.-It is very
common to pour water around the roots
OF tree at planting, without stopping to
inquire why. Unless the soil is extreme
" dry, In the spring, and the tree has al
ready commenced to grow, water does
more harm than good. And right here it
may as we'll be said, If dry weather en-
sues after planting SO as to effect the tree
10 not sprink lie every day. but remove
two inches Of the surface over the roots
and pour water enough to go clear down
to the lowest roots-replacc the earth and
mulch with little hay, or grass, or straw
or tanbark, or something to
prevent rapid evaporation. Seldom.
Will any more water be needed
What Kind Of Trees to 1t.-Most
people want large trees, must have large
trees; when the planting humor comes
patience seems to be lost-must have
trees that will bear right away. Looking
at trees Just Of the proper size they will
cxclaim, "Who could wait for such wbips
to bear!' 'Wc may all be in Our graves
before that time True enough there
may be exceptional cases when a few
large trees, removed and planted with ex-
traordlnary care, may bea success, but in
Il general way the trees that plant most
successfully aud thrive best after plant
ing, and ultimately make the most healthy
productive and long-livcd trcss, are those
transplantcd young-say apples three or
four years, pears and plums, two to four
years, cherries two years. peaches one
year. The age means the growth of
the bud OF graft, and has no reference to
age of the stock grated or budded upon.
The older the tree the greater the check
III transplanting, and this is why the
young trees will ovcrtakc and pass the
Older and larger tree in the race of growth.
But whatever may be the age, size or
character OF your tree. look we'll to its
roots. Have them all, or as many Of
them as may be possible, preserved from
mutilation Or injury of any kind and pro-
tect them from the air, so that they will
not be dried to deatl, before you get them
in the ground. see people every year
handling trees as if they were dry brush.
and it should be an indictablc offence.
What about Pruning at tile time of
1ranspldnting ?-This is mooted ques-
ton, but long experience shows that
whatever theory may teach, it is safe to
shorten back the branches at time of
planting; this by reducing the number
Of leaf buds,' and consequently leaves, re-
duces their evaporating powers while the
tree is forming new roots and getting
used to its new home. a good rule, as
tar as we can make rule, is to cut back
the young shoots to two or three buds at
the base, and where shoots are too close
cut out some Of them altogether.
Hoac far apart should Trees be P1ante1?
The average distance may be given as
follows: Standard trees-Apples, thirty
feet, pears and cherries, twenty feet, the
smaller class of cherries will do very we'll
at fften to eighteen feet; plums, peaches,
apricots and nectarincs, sixteen to eigh-
teen feet, ounces, ten to twelve feet.
Dwarf trees-Apples on paradise stock,
six feet apart, and nothing In the whole
range Of fruit culture is more interesting
than these miniature apple trees, three or
four feet in height and the same in diam
ctcr, whether in blossom or fruit. Pears,
cherries and plums, ten to twelve feet,
Currants, gooseberries and raspberries.
three to four feet. These distances can
OF course be varied to suit circumstances.