The Prescott daily news., 1915-10-22
<. PLANTING A HOME ORCHARD

| take the course.-J. H. Miller, Director | Cooperative Extension Work
 |. PLANTING A HOME ORCHARD. Location
 IT possible, the home orchard should De planted upon a sloping site. aiming 10 avoid frosty pockets and places where the land is apt to be wet and | frosty If placed upon a site where the land is apt to be rather wet, the soil should be tile drained, but, as q rule, It IS best to plant upon places where no artificial drainage is nec- essary.
 Soil.
 Good fruit can be grown upon a great variety of soils, and it is better to have the home orchard on soil that Is not perfectly congenial than not to have any at all. At tke same time each fruit seems to have it's 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 a 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 .or home use. In the first place SC lect varieties that thrive in your To- cality and give preference to varie- ties of high quality. Good culture can not atone in the future for the selec- ton 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 cd to your locality and tastes, send to the Arkansas Experiment Station for Bulletin 116.
 Selecting Nursery Stock
 One cannot be too careful in select ing nursery stock for home planting. The common mistakes made are se- lecting cheap trees and ordering from unreliable nurseries Cheap trees are poor economy and are very apt to ba untrue to name. They are expensive at any price First class trees from a 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 go and inspect the stock yourself before buying.
 Planting.
 The ground for the orchard should be as we'll if 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 large part of the root surface has been cut 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 a permanent position. As 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, 1t is well to use common planting board, which consists of a small board about five feet long, with notch in either