St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-07
SPRING PLANT. NC.
1t Is Favored by Prof Keffer, of
the BrOOkings Experiment Sta

the BrOOkings Experiment Sta
ton.
Doubtless the principal reason why
fall planting has been advocated in the
West is because it is practiced success
fully in the great fruit-growing States,
East. My own experience, though
limited to the states of M nnesoto and
Dakota, and covering but five years, is
altogether in favor of spring planting
foI everything, with the possible ex-
ceptiOn of certain forest tree seeds.
There are many good and sufficient
reasons
WHY SPRING PLANTING IS PREFERABLE
to fall setting, particularly in Dakota,
Western Minnesota and Northwestern
Iowa. First, the later rains in this
region come in August or September,
and are apt to be followed by two months
of almost cloudless weather before
winter sets IN, thus making the soil very
dry for autumn planting. Second it not
infrequently happens that but little
snow falls during the winter, and this,
with dry autumn, makes conditions
which are quite unfavorable for newly
planted trees. unprOvided as they must
with good fibrOus root system. And
third, the wind is never weary on the
Western prairies, even in mid-Winter.
and the constant action of the wind on
plants which are not we'll established in
the soil must be weakening. Now in
regions OF heavy autumnal rains, deep
SHOWS and natural forrest WinGbreaks,
all these difficulties become reduced to
minimum, and the greater leisure
that the fall season affords makes it
valuable time for planting. In my
&c e., (,
ern planter to
SECURE STOCK LATE IN AUTUMN,
let the fruit trees and small fruits, eY-
cept strawberries, be delivered as soon
as the leaves have fallen, or when the
seasons growth is well matured. Prune
away all bruised roots and bury the
plants, root and branch, placing them
at an incline Of forty-five degrees or
whereabouts, thus covering the roots
deeper than the tops. Severe
freezing should not be permit
ted; load or two of barn-yard
litter, added late in December,
will prevent it. AS soon as the ground
be well worked in the spring Git
ould have been plowed in autumn) set
out the plants. There is rlways time
which is lust exactly right for plant
ing in the spring. / am told that in
OeldWdTC GIllS perfect UIOin0It LOT tile
apple is when the first leaf is as large as
a squirrels ear. / believe that The first
leave should decrease in size as the
planter moves westward, and that be-
fore Dakota is reached all
THE APPLE TREES SHOULD BE SET
before the buds have even begun to
swell. find here that we should have
everything in place and ready to grow
late in April, or at the latest, early in
May; for during April nature gives un-
mistakable signs of awakening. and
these signs increase as Mav-day ap-
proaches. We retire to rest in the early
part of May. and in the morning we
find that the trees have thrown off their
long sleep with US, and growth begins,
so sudden is the change of our seasons.
l have kept apple and plum trees. and
grapes. raspberries and currants over
winter as above suggested, at the Min
nesota Experiment station. with the
best result. And this fall | am 5urying
all the deciduOus stock which has been
grown for transplanting in spring.
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