The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-02-27
MET AT MOSIER.
Enthusiastic Fruit Growers
Meeting.
-Concluded.l
sErrINo our ANp cuLrIvArINa.


to be known as the crank on setting oui
an orchard.
Mr.. Mason--I will give you my viewl
but anything ! may say do not wan
you to take for law and gospel. am al
yet only experimenting This system il
what they call the equilaterai or lex
agonal system, in which the trees are all
an equal distance apart, and in which
any one tree is in the center OF six Other
trees. In this system you will find that
you get about 10 per cent more trees
than in the square system. You do not
weaken the ground any more than you
do in the square system. You will no.
tice in this illustration thatin the square
system there is quite space that is not
utilized, while in the hexagonal sys-
tenn there is no space unoccupied.
One of my friends in Hood River said be
wanted to set his orchard square with
the world, and you will find that this
system is just as much so as the square
system. Let the top OF this illustration
be the north and you will see the rows
run north and south, while it also is
possessed OF the merit OF having the
rows run in five other different direc-
tions.
Mr., Mason then gave very lucid
detailed explanation Of the hexagonal
system Illustrating his remarks, with a
diagram comparing the two systems and
described his two methods Of laying off
an orchard, one with two chains, the
other with three boards in the form Of
triangle, marking the site OF each tree
with small stake as he proceeds. This
description we will reserve for another
issue when we will publish diagram
also. The Glacier printed this diagram
seven or eight years ago when j. r.
Galligan set out his orchard by this sys-
tenn. Mr.. Mason also said in his re-
marks that we can grow our trees closer
together than they do in the Eastern
states, because our trees do not grow SO
large as they do there; for the reason,
he thinks that the soil is stronger there
than it is here.
In regard to cultivation, Mr.. Mason
said | don't know any more about
cultivating an orchard than | do about
making success of apple growing, but
will give you my ideas. 1t is one of
the most important subjects for consid-
GRAFTON and is one OF the least compre-
hended and systematized of all the
different branches of the apple growing
industry in our valley. A practical or
chard cultivator has not been invented
yet. am going to get me cultiyator
that is made in Salem, called, | think,
the Kimball. 1t has three-inch steel,
half-twist blades which run at right
angles and are just the thing to kill the
ferns and blackberries which are our
worst weed pests. 1t is perfect shallow
cultiyator and SO arranged that you can
ride it or walk and cultivate. 1t is in
expensive, costing some where between
$l6 and $l8. f. l.. Smith bought one,
the only one in the valley. With this
you can get close up to the tree. | do
not like the right lap plow,t the side draft
spoils it. This machine is far better.
1t pulverizes the surface, cutting the
weeds off just below the ground, leaving
them stand so that you hardly know
they are cut until the sun willis them. |
am also going to use drag in my or
chard. | will make the drag IL feet
wide with runners IL feet long to keep
the drag from dipping into the ruts or
low places and so it will catch the tops
of the ridges. will use the springtooth
harrow in connection with this drag.
Mr.. Mosier-Are you going to use the
springtooth to loosen up the ground in
the first place? Don't the ground get
hard under where the springtooth is
used?
MIR. Mason-No, Think not am making |
ridges in my orchard by plowingit. The
springtooth loosens only the surface
but your right lap don't go over three
or four inches deep.
MFR Mosier--I find that in using the |
spring tooth ii the ground is not loos-
ened with plow every two or three
years hard crust forms under the
springtooth.
Mr.. Mason-That is what / said in my
initial remarks, there is no instrument |
yet invented that makes practical or
chard cultivator. Anything that has
wheels and neck-yoke and tongue
may do to plow corn with, but they will |
not do in an orchard. The horse gets
mad, you get mad and your trees get
Scared up.
Mr.. Sellinger-I don't know anything
about any of these machines. | eulti-
vate my orchard with plow The
springtooth leaves a hard crust after a
few years. !.
Mr.. Mason--How do you get to the
tree2
Mr.. Sellinger-You have got to trim
them up.
Mr.. Mason-In this orchard which
/ have illustrated you can cultivate three
different ways. The rows are juss wide
enough these ways, which you cannot do
in any other system OF setting them out.
There is another thing and that is in re-
gard to spraying. You will see that
under the square system, with the wind
from the northwest the spray from the
man on the north side of the sprayer
will cover the horse, the driver or
the man with the other line of hose,
while with this system, one man can
stop just before the tree on one side
and the other man just after the tree on
the other with the sprayer between
them so that the spray will not get on
either the horse, driver or the other
man.
Mr.. Carroll-Mr. Mason says he has
ridges in his orchard. / have plowed
mine for six years and have no ridges in
it. NV orchard is six years old and
from now on will continue to plow il
when want TO and yet have no ridges.
] pillow it then harrow it crosswise. IL
YOU will do that and do it thoroughly
YOU will not get ridges in your orchard.
have never had any trouble in that
line. plow one way, then springtooth
crosswise, then harrow. My trees are
25 feet apart. just cultivated with
springtoOth last year and narrowed
with a steel harrow. That is the way |
cultivate my orchard, Last year ! kept
the moisture within two or three inches
of the top of the ground, believe the
plow is much the best thing in the or
chard.
Mr.. Mason-Yes, you might plow
the orchard in that way the first six
years and keep it level; but after that
time. after the trees are s or 10 years
old how will il be, as the limbs grow
longer7 Don't the plow Interfere with
the rOotsg
Mr.. Carroll-Iti is just owing to how
YOU cultivate the first year. II you eul-
tivate shallow the first year the roots