The Harrison times., 1915-10-09


soil should be tile drained, but, as
rule, 1t is best to plant upon places
where no artificial drainage is nee.
essary.
Soil.
Good fruit can be grown upon a
great variety of soils, and 1t is better
to have the home orchard on soil that
is not perfectly congenial than not to
have any at all At the same time
each fruit seems to have its soil pre-.
ferences, and, If possible, we should
plan the different fruits where the soil
is congenial. AS a rule, the stone
fruits, like the peach and cherry, like
a fairly sandy warm soil, while the
plome fruits, such as the apple and
pear. demand heavier type OF soil. In
any case the soil for the home orchard
should have the three essentials, good
drainage, good texture and fair fer.
tility.
Choosing Varieties.
In choosing varieties for the home
orchard, one should not select the
same varieties that he would for com.
mercial planting. The home fruit
grower raises fruit for pleasure and
for eating; market value is not Of con.
cern. This is important, because some
varieties are good for the market, but
very poor for home use. The CONNER,
cial grower might make more money
out Of the Ben Davis apple, but the
Grimes or Jonathan are much better
for home use. In the first place Sc
lect varieties that thrive in your 10,
cality and give preference to varie-
ties Of high quality. Good culture can,
not atone in the future for the selec.
tion of poor varieties, and, for this
reason, it is important to select va
rieties of high quality at the begin,
ming. Another factor to consider in
the varieties for the home orchard is
choosing the varieties that suit your
special taste Each planter will have
to decide these things for himself. if
IN doubt as to the varieties best suit,
ed to your locality and tastes, send to
the Arkansas Experiment Station for
Bulletin 1l6.
Selecting Nursery Stock.
One cannot be too careful in select
ing nursery stock for home planting,
The common mistakes made are sc.
lecting cheap trees and ordering from
unreliable nurseries, Cheap trees are
poor economy and are very apt to be
untrue to name. They are expensive
at any price First class trees from
reliable nursery must be expected to
cost more than poor trees from poor.
ly managed nursery. Patronize a
nearby nursery, other things being
equal, so that you will be able to 90
and inspect the stock yourself before
buying,
Planting.
The ground for the orchard should
be as we'll II not better prepared than
for any farm crop. Fall and winter
planting is probably best with the
conditions we have to deal with in
this state. This enables the tree to
get we'll established before spring and
there is less danger Of damage by the
summer drought. Severe losses can
often be prevented by the proper treat
ment Of the trees at the time of plant.
ing. Cut off the bruised and broken
ends Of roots and thin out the crowd
ing and interlacing ones. A large
part Of the root surface has been cat
off at the time Of digging and to meet
this loss the top should be cut back
one.third to one-half, In planting, too
much care cannot be given in placing
the trees in permanent position. As
a rule, trees are planted in squares,
locating the position OF the tree by
measure or by sighting. After the To-,
cations OF the trees are found, it is
well to use common planting board,
which consists Of n small board about
fv. feet long, with notch in either
end and a notch in the middle. The
middleS notch is placed at the stake
where tBe tree is to be planted and
other stakes are driven in the notches
at the end Then the planting board
Is taken away and the hole dug. Then
the board Is placed back in the posi-.
tion and this locates the position Of
tho tree while planting and insures
straight rows. IL very impervious
Apl,a