Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-09-30
FALL VS.. SPRING PLANTING.

4
| Regarding the question as to the
best time to plant fruit trees, it is to
be observed that this is seldom decid-
ed on it's merits. Most men, at least
those of limited experience, are pre-
! JUDGED against fall planting. This
prejudice rests chiefly on the supposed
risk which trees run during the win
ter. To the inexperienced man, any
young fruit tree is always risk, like
baby. There's no telling what may
happen to it, or when. The winter
seems specially unpropitious time
for a frail little nursery plant to be
exposed to the weather all alone in an
open orchard. The practical man,
however, will not let little prejudice
stand in the way of any substantial
fact, and if he finds that it is true as
a matter of experience that trees grow
just as we'll when fall planted as when
set in the spring, he will leave the de-
cision to other considerations.
Experience has shown, then, that
fall planting often succeeds just as
well as spring planting; sometimes
better, sometimes not SO well. The
only real question is, as to what con-
ditions favor the one season or the
other.
In the first place, it may be laid
down as a general rule that fall plant
ing is safe and feasible in soils not
i subject to severe winter freezing,
especially those that are we'll drained.
Soils which hold water and freeze
ought not to be planted with fruit
trees, anyway; but it is doubly danger
Gus to plant such soils in the fall
Secondly the soil should be in good
mechanical condition-that is, it
should be in first-rate state of culti-
walton, thoroughly pulverized. The rea-
son for this is obvious. A stiff, lumpy
soil will not pack well around the
roots of the young trees. The roots
are left exposed to the air even be-
meath the surface of the ground, and
| they dry out and die during the win
ter. Loose and well-pulverized soil,
on the contrary, packs about the roots
and keeps them moist.
Thirdly, the soil should be moist.
While it should not be soggy, contain
! ing stagnant water, it should not be
dry. The trees require some moisture
even during the winter They lose
some water by evaporation, and this
water must be replaced easily from
the soil or the tree will suffer. For
this reason fall planting is especially
| L. DO
good irrigation can be given just be-
fore or just after setting the trees.
In the fourth and last place, the
| trees should be in good condition.
This is generally an easy requirement
to meet. The trees are nearly always
in better condition in the fall than in
the spring.
/ Given these four conditions, Q)
| well-drained, non-freezing SOIL T.,
in a good state of cultivation, CD will
adequate moisture, ard Cd having in
hand good, sound, well-ripened trees,
fall planting is perfectly safe-just
as safe as spring planting. More
over, under these circumstances, it has
certain advantages, the principal ones
being as follows:
1. There is usually more time for
the work in the fall. On a farm, work
is always rushing in the spring. A
fruit farm is no exception to this rule.
2. The trees can be handled from
the nursery to greater advantage.
Most nurserymen nowadays dig all
their stock in the fall and put it in
storage. If the storage is good and
properly managed, it will do the trees
no harm; but it certainly will do them
no good in any case. Then putting
trees into storage and taking them out
again means two landings, and some
body has to pay for that work.
8. Good trees, we'll planted in the