Kitabı oku: «American Pomology. Apples», sayfa 13

CHAPTER VIII

SELECTION AND PLANTING

IMPORTANCE OF JUDICIOUS SELECTION—LARGE TREES NOT DESIRABLE. THRIFTY YOUNG TREES PREFERRED—REASONS FOR THE PREFERENCE—ADVANTAGES OF SMALLER TREES—LOW HEADS AND THE PROTECTION BY LATERAL BRANCHES—PERSONAL INSPECTION AND SELECTION RECOMMENDED—DIGGING THE TREES—CAREFULLY AVOID MUTILATION OF THE ROOTS—PUDDLING—TYING AND LABELING—PACKING—AVOID EXPOSURE TO SUN AND WIND, AND FROST—TREATMENT OF FROZEN TREES IN COLD WEATHER—HEELING-IN—MULCHING—MAKING RECORD—DRIED TREES, HOW RESTORED—SEASON FOR PLANTING—BANKING THE TREES—MULCHING—DISTANCE BETWEEN TREES—DEPENDENT UPON THE HABIT OF THE VARIETY—ASSORTING THE VARIETIES ACCORDING TO SIZE—CLOSE PLANTING—COMBINATION PLANTING—DIFFERENT CROPS—APPLES AND PEACHES, OR CHERRIES—SMALL FRUITS BETWEEN—ORDER OF PLANTATION—QUINCUNX—ASSORTING VARIETIES—CONVENIENCE IN HARVESTING TO HAVE EACH KIND GROUPED TOGETHER.

We now come to the consideration of a matter of great importance to the success of the future orchard—the selection of the plants we are to set therein. No matter how favorable the site, how good the soil, nor how thorough the preparations may have been; all may be spoiled by a bad selection of trees, and subsequent disappointment will be the consequence.

Formerly, and in some sections of the country even now, very erroneous notions prevailed upon this subject. Large trees, of several years' growth in the nursery, were preferred by those who were planting orchards: trees, ready to bear fruit, were eagerly inquired for, and preferred; even if they had been crowded together so as to be drawn up to a great hight without any lateral branches, and had formed their heads at the hight of seven or eight feet, so as to be out of the way of browsing by cattle and horses, they were the more admired by the purchasers. Now-a-days there is a great change in the sentiment of tree-planters as to the age, size, and shape of the trees that are to be set out.

Thrifty young trees are preferred to older and larger ones on many accounts. They are more vigorous and will endure the disturbance of digging, transportation, and change of locality from the nursery to the orchard, much better than larger and older trees. They are more easily dug, and will have a larger proportion of roots removed with them than those which have stood longer in the nursery-rows, so as to have pushed their fibres beyond the reach of the spade. Such trees are more stocky, and are furnished with lateral branches, or they should be so furnished, but these would be smothered and removed from older trees in crowded rows, as they are usually found in the nurseries. If these younger trees be not already furnished with laterals and elements for the formation of low heads, by the judicious treatment of the nurserymen who produced them, the orchardist can at least bend them to his will. He may make of them just what he pleases by his own manipulations at the time of planting or afterwards, without feeling that he is sacrificing to his fancy and judgment the growth of two or three years, by freely using the knife and saw, in the removal of the surplus and overgrown top, leaving him only a bare and mutilated stock to set out at the beginning of his orchard.

Another advantage of selecting small trees, especially to those at a distance from the nursery, is, that they are so much more easily transported, and freight bills are a serious item in the expense account of a large orchard plantation—these may be reduced to a minimum by the selection of small instead of large trees. As to forming the heads of our trees, if we cannot get the nurserymen to do this for us, since we are unwilling to remunerate them for the extra labor, and greater space required to form such stocky specimens as we prefer, the difficulty is obviated by planting out young trees upon which we may form the heads where we please.

As already suggested, there is a great revolution going on in the minds of tree-planters as to the proper age for planting. Instead of the inquiry for huge and cumbrous, overgrown trees, that had stood four or five years or more in the nursery, we now find a growing demand for small, stocky trees, of two or three years, or even less. Of many thriftily growing kinds, good yearlings are much better for the orchard than large trees, especially such as have been crowded in the nursery and are devoid of side branches, and whose tall naked stems are exposed to the burning heats and blasting cold of their new homes in the open field, and to the depredations of hosts of insects. Those purchasers, who seek after the tall trees, with bare stems, running up like fishing poles, they who desire to buy their trees by the running yard and to get as great a length as possible for their money, can be accommodated by the nurseryman, who will produce the article to order; but such planters will soon find that their orchards are much less satisfactory than those set with short and stocky trees, and which have been encouraged to branch out so as to form low heads. As set forth in the chapter upon The Nursery, such trees can be produced, and they are greatly to be preferred on many accounts, but their production by the nurserymen must depend upon the intelligence of the orchardists producing a demand for trees of such a character, and a willingness on their part to pay the grower a liberal price for the increased labor and expense, (in space at least), requisite for their production. This no one should object to, for there is economy in planting good trees; the successful orchardist will purchase the best; he will not have the refuse or trash that may be offered him at a low figure, for he well knows that it is dear at any price.

Where it is practicable and within reach, it is best for the planter to visit the nursery and make his own selection of the trees, especially if the demand be for a limited number; but he may generally depend upon the judgment and honesty of the nurseryman, if he has given his order distinctly as to the shape of the trees he desires to purchase. In a common nursery, he will often observe at the ends of the rows, and where there may have been a gap or break in the continuous line of any variety, so that the trees are less crowded, some trees that are better furnished with lateral branches, and are consequently more stocky than where the rows are crowded. Here he will be likely to find the specimens that suit his fancy, and he will mark them for removal.

Digging.—At the proper season, and for most kinds this is at the fall of the leaf, the trees should be dug from the ground. This operation, as usually and necessarily conducted in large establishments, has to be done expeditiously and with less care than the amateur will be disposed to bestow upon this very important operation; and it sometimes happens that he will offer to pay the nurseryman a bonus for the privilege of digging his own trees with his own hands.

In performing this operation he will be very careful to avoid mutilating the roots with the spade, or by using more force than is absolutely necessary in lifting the loosened tree from its bed after the roots have been pretty thoroughly liberated from the soil. He will follow the directions given under this head in the appropriate section of the chapter on The Nursery. The importance of puddling the roots as soon as the trees are dug, cannot be too forcibly impressed upon the planter and nurseryman; its value to the trees is so great as a protection of the tender covering of the roots from exposure to the blighting influences of light, wind, and frost, that the trifling labor and expense involved in the operation, should not receive a moment's consideration.

A puddle hole should be within convenient reach of the nursery-rows where the digging is in progress, and each sort should be taken to it as soon as dug. The excavation should be about a foot deep, or more, for large plants, and as wide as is necessary to receive all the roots of the trees to be puddled. A plentiful supply of water should be at hand to put into the hole, and fine dry loamy soil should be sifted into this, or simply thrown in from the shovel, and thoroughly mixed, so as to bring the fluid to the consistency of thick cream. Into this mud the roots are dipped, until every fibre is endued with a coating of the fine material; the trees then are ready for tying snugly together, and a little dry dirt may be sprinkled or sifted upon the roots while they are still wet, so as to give them a further protection from the elements. They are then securely bound, each kind by itself, and each carefully labeled, if not already done; and as soon as all are grouped together, they are ready for transportation to their new homes. If the distance be short, so that the trees may be carried on the farm-wagon, no packing is used, unless the weather proves very inclement, but it is always safer to guard against both wind and sun, by covering the roots from their influence. For distant transportation, too much care cannot be taken to have the trees well packed to protect the roots from drying and freezing.

In our uncertain climate, it not unfrequently happens that we receive an invoice of trees in the midst of a severe storm of cold, when the ground is frozen hard, and we have reason to suppose that the roots in the cases are frozen. This need not discourage nor alarm us, if the packing be good, for we have only to be patient and allow them time to thaw out thoroughly in the dark, and we shall find our trees all right. The packages should be placed at once in a dark cellar, and allowed to thaw gradually—if no such convenience be at hand, the boxes may be buried in the soil, or covered heavily with straw or hay, materials which are generally abundant in a prairie country, where commodious cellar room is not always at command.

Heeling-in, as it is called, is a very important operation to be performed so soon as possible after the receipt of the trees. It consists in placing the fibrous roots in immediate and close contact with the fresh and mellow soil, at some point convenient to the future planting. A ditch is dug with the spade, or a deep furrow is opened with the plow, in a sheltered, but elevated and dry situation, and in light mellow soil; into this the trees are placed as fast as they are removed from the packages, each kind being separated from the next by a distinct marking stick, and it is well to place the labeled tree first, as taken from bundles when untied. The trees are inclined at an angle, generally leaning towards the south, so as to have the stems shaded by their own branches. They are carefully placed separately and held in this position by one person, while the fine mellow earth is thrown upon the roots by another, who should take great care to see that all the interstices are filled with soil, so as to exclude the air from the fibres. This is especially necessary where the trees are to remain in this situation during the winter, when they will be alternately frozen and thawed. To secure them from injury, the earth should be banked up against them several inches; and it is well also to cover this with a heavy coating of leaves or some other mulching material, if it can be safely used without danger of attracting the field mice, which might ruin the trees. It is well at once to make a record of the trees as they stand, so soon as they are heeled-in, beginning at one end of the ditches or rows, and pursuing a definite order. This record will prove of great value, and very convenient in selecting the different kinds at the time of planting, and will enable us to restore the names in case of accidental loss of labels during the winter. The heeling-in of trees as they are received is recommended, even if everything is ready for immediate planting, unless the number be very small; but if the weather and our convenience permit us to place them at once in their permanent stations, the trees need not be heeled-in with so much care as when they are to remain for a longer period.

It sometimes happens that, from accident, detention by the way, bad packing, or exposure, we receive our trees in bad condition; they are dried, and the bark appears to be shriveled and shrunken—they seem to be dead. Such trees may often be entirely restored by a little care, and will grow as well as any. The best treatment for such is to bury them at once. Opening a sufficiently large trench, a layer of trees is placed flat upon the bottom, fine mellow earth is sifted upon, and among their roots and branches, another layer of trees is spread down and covered in the same way, and so on until they are all secured, when they are left to quietly and slowly absorb the moisture from the soil. In a few days they will be found to be well plumped, and will look as fresh as ever, and should be exhumed, trimmed, and planted, selecting a moist or showery day for the operation.

Season for Planting.—This topic has already been discussed, and the advantages of fall planting have been presented: but it is well to bear in mind that there are reasons for preferring the spring, and for some fruits the latter season is generally preferred.

When planting an orchard in the fall, it has been recommended to raise an embankment of earth about the stem, for the double purpose of protecting the roots from the frost, and also of preventing the action of the wind swaying the tree and straining the roots. A copious mulching is sometimes applied to keep out the frost, or at least to prevent the frequent thawing and freezing of the surface in our variable winters; but whenever loose material is left near the base of a young tree, we must expect damage from the mice, which are attracted and sheltered, and may commit sad devastations upon the bark before spring. The banking and mulching may be combined with advantage, and with less danger from the mice, which only work under cover and are often more injurious upon older trees, surrounded with grass and weeds in neglected orchards, than upon those newly planted and mulched, if a little care has been taken to remove the straw or tramp it down near the stem.

Distance.—The distance between the trees is a matter that should be carefully determined. Their habit should be considered, and their size, when fully developed, must be studied. Some varieties will be more crowded at forty feet apart, than others at fourteen. If possible, the larger and widely spreading sorts should be assorted and planted by themselves, and the more compact, upright and smaller ones should be grouped together. It is difficult to do this, however, for want of the necessary data; we can only make an approximation to the desired result. Thus, the Yellow Bellflower, Summer Queen, Fall Pippin, King of Tompkins County, Talman's Sweet, Golden Sweet, Pennock, Northern Spy, and several others, are of the largest kind of trees, and may be allowed as much as forty feet of space between them, while the upright character and moderate growth of the Lady, Bullock's Pippin, Red June, Benoni, Early Joe, American Summer Pearmain, Summer Rose, Red Astrachan, and others, of similar habit, would enable us to crowd them into half as much space without serious injury—and there are trees of intermediate size and vigor, such as the Winesap, Rambo, Greening, Russet, Early Harvest, Fall Wine, Autumn Strawberry, Hubbardston, Jonathan, and a host of others that, at the same ratio, should have thirty feet spaces between them.

There is also a great diversity of opinion among orchardists as to the proper allowance of space for each tree, and many western planters are advocates of close planting of the apple, which I have seen placed as near as sixteen feet, occupying the whole space in a very few years, and bearing luxuriantly. The advocates of such crowding urge, that they protect one another, and that alternate trees can easily be removed whenever they become too much crowded. In other places, the old rule, of allowing two rods (33 feet), or even forty feet, between the trees, is still followed and considered the best.

A favorite method with some planters of fruits is, to make a combination of different kinds in the same orchard, so as to have the whole surface occupied from the first. In this way, by introducing a temporary crop of another variety which will make speedy returns, and will soon be ready to come away and make room for the permanent plantation, the ground may be rendered productive of remunerative crops from the first. It is a very common plan to combine in this way the apple and the peach—the latter come into bearing rapidly, and are generally ready to be removed by the time the apple trees need the whole space. Alternate rows and alternate trees are usually planted with peaches, and the small growing cherries, such as the Early May, often called the Early Richmond, can be planted in the same way. I have seen a still further combination of fruits made by the introduction of the raspberry, or even of the blackberry, the currant, and the gooseberry, in alternate rows, so that, by setting the apple trees at forty feet, with alternating cherry trees, and the cherry rows in the middle space, or twenty feet each way from the apple and cherry rows, and in the intermediate strips of twenty feet the berries, which were also set between the trees, the whole ground was laid off in rows of fruit separated by strips of ten feet wide. Nothing is then needed for the full occupation of the ground, and to yield a return of fruit the next year, but to plant a single row of strawberries in each of these ten feet spaces; these, if well treated, would make four beds in the spaces between every two of the apple tree rows, or each ten feet, which is nearly half as much as would be planted in the open field; and these would yield a half crop the next year after planting, and as much the next season, when they should be plowed up to give cultivation to the berry bushes that would then also bear a crop of fruit, and continue to do so until the larger trees needed the ground for their support. The peaches or cherries would commence bearing the third or fourth year, and some of the apples would follow quickly afterward, yielding partial crops. By such a combination, as has been represented, the land is made to yield a succession of paying fruit crops from the second year of the foundation of the orchard.

Fig. 26.—DIAGRAM OF PLANTING QUINCUNX.

The order of planting is a matter of some consequence, and should be settled upon before commencing the work. The simplest form, and that most usually adopted, is the square; furrows are drawn across the field, at whatever distance the plants may be desired to stand, and crossed by others equally distant and at right angles to the first. These will, by their intersections, indicate the stations to be occupied by the trees. Some planters introduce a tree at the centre point between each four, and this has been called quincunx, but erroneously—for the true quincunx is constituted by one central tree surrounded by six, and all are equidistant, as illustrated by the diagram, figure 26. This gives as many trees as possible upon the ground, all equidistant, at twenty feet apart, or at any other distance. It will be seen, that, in laying off this ground, whether with the plow or simply with stakes to indicate the stations which the trees are to occupy, we may first strike our furrows or set our sight poles, all in one direction, parallel, and at seventeen feet four inches apart. Crossing these at right angles, we may draw parallel furrows every ten feet, and by setting our stakes at each alternate intersection of these furrows, the proper stations will be found for planting trees in the true quincunx order, in which every tree will occupy the corner of an equilateral triangle, and will be equidistant from six surrounding trees. If any one prefers to dig holes with the spade, instead of the more economical method proposed, by using the plow, the stakes may be set in parallel rows, in such a manner, that in every alternate row the first stakes shall be advanced one-half of the desired distance from the base line. It will be desirable in this, as in every other system, to have a measuring-line at hand to prove the work from time to time, and make corrections; for, otherwise, the most careful planter will soon get out of range. When the stakes are set properly, on level ground, they should range correctly in all directions. If the plantation be upon an uneven or hilly surface, it will be found almost impossible to lay off the ground with absolute precision; but this is a matter of very little consequence, as the growth of the trees will soon conceal any slight defects, particularly if they be trained with low heads. In the small fruit garden greater precision is desirable, and should be attempted, but in the commercial orchard, containing hundreds or thousands of trees, such exactitude is scarcely attainable if it were desired. Sometimes the aid of the civil engineer, with his instruments, is called in by the very precise planter.