The Portland daily press., 1883-04-30
THE PRESS.
MONDAY MORNING. APRIL so.
Setting Fruit Treas

Setting Fruit Trees.
There is no one of the various operations
connected with successful orcharding which
requires more painstaking care, or is more
fruitful OF good results in the end, than Is
that OF setting out the trees in the orchard.
Indifferent work here is invariably the cause
Of perplexing delays, and possibly, and per-
haps might say generally, will result In
weakly, stunted, unthrifty tree, If not In Its
complete loss. In fact the conviction has
been forced upon me through long expert
ence in the care of trees, and has been more
and more confirmed in later years, that if
tree does not start well into vigorous and
healthy growth, from defective setting or
from diseased condition of any kind, the
sooner 1t is removed entire and a good tree
put in its place the better it will be for the
owner. The first cost of tree Is a triie:
the attention, the painstaking care involved
in the attempt to revive and re-invigorate a
weakly and defective tree will be found
many times the cost of a good tree to start
anew with, Besides, the delay in the bear
ing of the tree Is vital matter. Fruit trees
nre set for the fruit 1t is expected they will
bear. The delay of two, three or more years
in the starting into vigorous growth is
delay OF the same number of years more
than otherwise would have been the case of
coming to bearing condition, and, what is
OF greater account still, loss of just that
number of years of fruitage. After all, the
greatest loss from bad setting and poor trees
is not in the money value of the tree but
is in the delay in securing a bearing
condition, and in harvesting the promised
fruit refer to some instances to illustrate
this point. | have transplapted tree, not
very large tree either, from my nursery to
The orchard, and the third year thereafter
have picked from 1t almost measured BUSH
ell of apples which sold for one dollar and
quarter per bushel. In another case / sold
several large sized trees to gentleman in
Lewiston, and in five years they were large
trees with widespreading tops full of frat.
A whole orchard from the same nursery in
the town of Green, is now giving the owner
bountiful crops of fruit. In these cases de-
lay would have cost something, as it always
does.
There is no need of failures, or OF vexa-
tlous delays, IN putting out an orchard. If
such calamity follows an enterprise of this
kind it certainly comes from a lack of
knowledge, or from negligence on the part
of the operator. Good trees, we'll set out, in
a proper soil and situation, and passably
well cared for will surely and promptly re-
ward the owner with an Abundance of fruit.
Such result is as reasonably certain as any
other of our farm operations.
If possible set the trees early in the spring
before it is time for the buds to start. / do
not mean that trees cannot be set late aud
do pAssably well, but they will certainly dc
better set early.
People differ, suppose honestly, as to the
distance apart trees should be set | have
recently seen orchards where the trees were
only one rod apart; others twenty feet. If
the trees were set out TO die the arrange
ment is good one. | 10 not set up my
opinion as more worthy of confidence than
is the opinion of these other men, yet know
OF no solid argument which can be brought
forward why here in this State, with cheap
land and enough of it for us all, we should
attempt to crowd a large number of trees
into small space. l set my trees two rods
apart and claim they should not be less than
thirty feet on any account. When from my
experience or from observation among the
orchards, am convinced that the close set
ting is the better way l shall be pleased to
acknowledge my error. A tree and the fruit
it bears, needs a free circulation of air
around it, and it needs light and sunshine
needs room to work around it, to cart in
mulching and manure, and to pick and cart
out the fruit. / have an orchard set twenty
years ago which now affords no more room
than is needed for the purposes indicated,
and the trees are not large either. The num-
Der of trees on a tract of land is not the
measure of SUCCESSIVE fruit is the final OBJ
ject.
If the land is old tillage the holes should
be dug, at least four feet in diameter and
eighteen inches deep however small the
roots OF the tree may be. If the trees are of
large size, and wide-spreading roots as many
or our home nursery trees are. the hole must
be proportionately larger. When a tree is
taken up in the nursery the extremities of
the roots are cut off or broken off in the re-
moval. When it starts into growth at once
large number of fine rootlets start out
from the extremity where cut off. 1t is not
sufficient that the hole be barely large enough
for the roots of a tree to be placed in posi-
ton. When these fine rootlets and the feed
ers OF the tree start out for growth and for
nourishment for the support of the tree they
lass aso es ~ osa ass - wosn
and become stunted il this condition is not
secured. If the trees are set in new land or
In pastures never ploughed, where the soil
has never been packed by cultivation, there
will not be that necessity for care as in old
fields. passable success even, may follow
Indifferent work in this respect
a good tree is cheap at any price, and
poor tree can bear no comparison of value
with it. What though you may finally make
good tree from the poor one, the time re-
quired is delay of just so many years OF
bearing fruit So look out for good trees
and SET no others. If taken from a Maine
cost to have them carefully taken up and
with the principal parts of the roots left on
no matter If they do spread wide In trans
porting to the place for setting allow just as
little exposure to drying winds and seorch-
ing sun as possible; and the less time inter-
venfng between the lifting and setting the
better 1t these directions have been fol-
lowed you have only to smooth cut the ex-
tremities of the broken roots, cut out the
superfious branches, when IL will be ready
TO set. have tried the cutting back of the
branches as recommended by many orchard
lists, on trees from my own nurseries, and in
varlably 1t has proved an injury, as compared
with trees not thus treated The leaves are
as essential to the roots as the roots are to
the branches. With trees which have been
boxed and shipped here from other States,
with great, long, thrifty shoots, and with
roots cut off well up to the collar for convex
fence of packing, the case will be different
all through. These must be cut back and
you must take the consequences because
you can do no better.
In setting the tree there should be no hur-
rylng. Pulverize the earth thoroughly with
which the hole is filled and take extreme
care that all the interstices around and
among the roots are packed full, and that the
earth is firmly pressed down. The tree
should be set no deeper than it stood in the
nursery. You may smother tree by bury
lng us roots deeply as surely as you will a
kernel of wheat or corn, only 1t will be long
er dying. If fertilizing is necessary al time
OF setting use sparingly for Maine trees. of
flne old compost, and more literally for New
York trees, bat do not put it in contact with
the roots unless thoroughly mixed with the
soil. A good practice is to spread it near
The surface with sprinkling of earth over
it, If the soil has been properly firmed and
the tree is not over large there will be little
danger of displacement by wind; but to make
all sure, place two stones the size of a mans
head upon the ground close to the trunk of
the tree.
In the after treatment, with Maine grown
trees, II is not necessary that they receive
that ''high cultivation that is trurnpeted
abroad as the necessary thing which was
omitted when failure has been met. The
land for three or four years should be kept
under the pillow and the trees kept hoed or
mulched, or better still a little of both. On
ly the ordinary conditions of good culture
such as is given in the growing of ordinary
field crops is all that is required to secure
satisfactory growth. 1t may be possible to
secure thrift with the land kept in grsss but
IL will no done a q