The Dolores star., 1908-01-31
RANCH AND HousEHoLn.


Psspariss tIss lasd sos Young Trees,
An orchard neglected while young
will, at Its best, be only second-olass
orchard. To get the young orchard
started right Is Important. The av-
erage man justly feels that he must
economics in starting the young or
chard, and too often economy leads to
neglect. Though the process Of rearing
the orchard to productive stage Is an
expeRsive one, II Is worth doing well.
The buying Of poor trees, careless prep
aration Of the land for planting, or lack
Of care after planting, 10 poor economy.
The productive and profitable old
orchard is the one grown well while
young.
While raw land Is not the most sat
isfactory upon which to set young trees,
| 1t often seems advisable TO set on such
land without previous cropping. The
matter of breaking the land In by some
previous method of cropping hardly
seems important enough to necessitate
the loss of one or two years growth on
the young orchard. with q little ad-
ditional care the young orchard Gan he
successfully grown on land its first
season under water. These soils In
our arid countries are dry and require
careful watering. If the raw land
must he set, 1t should he carefully pre-
pared before planting. As u rule the
sander soils should bs thoroughly
watered before an attempt Is made to
level them. Very often the higher
spots settle most, and II these knobs
are pulled oil before watering the same,
soil must be moved back after settling
is complete. Water should be worked
onto these high places as the first step
in the preparation of the land. Often
the land is thoroughly watered before
il is plowed. When ready for the plow,
1t should be worked onto these high
places as the first step in the prepara-
tion of the land. Often the land is
thoroughly watered before II is plowed.
When ready for the plow 1t should be
worked deeply and thoroughly. Some
even advocate the use of the subsoil
plow in the plaes to be occupied by
the>trees rows. This could surely do
no harm and may give the roots a
better chance to penetrate the subsoil.
The next step Is carefully to level
the land. The young orchard should
never be planted on Q poorly leveled
piece of land. Leveling after the trees
are set is unsatisfactory and the orchard
set on half-leveled land soon shows q
lack Of uniformity which 1t requires
years to outgrow. Good leyeling
greatly reduces the labor of watering
and the per cent Of trees lost in setting.
Land which has been previously
farmed or cropped is the most satis-
factory upon which to set young trees.
If the land has been well watered, 1t is
uniformly moist, will require the
minimum amount of water to start the
young trees, and all danger from future
settling is oyiated. However, this land
will suffer quicker from ayerwatering
than the raw land. The amount of
moisture already in the subsoil retards
the recovery from overwhelming.
There is one precaution to be taken
in the preparation of all land for plant-
ing to young trees. The earlier it can
be done the better. The land plowed
in late spring takes water too freely
and the young trees often suffer from
overwhelming. The upper part of the
soil becomes saturated with water
which drives out the air and smothers
the roots of the young trees. To avoid
this difficulty the land should be pre-
pared early and thoroughly worked
down or settled with frequent winter
and early spring cultivations. This is
especially necessary in the case of
alfalfa land which is to be planted to
young trees. The disc harrow and
smoothing harrow are satisfactory tools
for tina work.-O. b. Whipple.