Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1874 — Setting Trees In Autumn. [ARTICLE]

Setting Trees In Autumn.

In answer to a query as to the policy of getting apple trees in Central lowa In the fall of the year, “ Rural ” says, in the Chicago Tribune : That will depend an at least two things: The condition of the soil, and the condition of the trees. In the first place, to succeed with autumn-setting the soil must be moist. To take a tree from the nursery and plant it in dry ground is but to insure its death. The soil must be in a moist condition, and this is not always the case. In 1864 1 set an orchard of 800 trees, just as the ground was freezing in December, and, the last day of the setting, it was difficult to break the crust, but the air during the day was above the freezing-point. The trees were banked up about two feet high against the stems with well-pulverized efirth. The result was that no tree was lost, and the growth was vigorous'the following season. In June the mounds about the trees were leveled down, and a small quantity of manure added to serve as a mulch. The trees were of all sizes, from the two-year-old of half an inch in diameter to those of three inches taken from an old nursery. None of them were cut back, only to form the heads, and no thinning out of the heads has been permitted since. In the next place, trees two or three years old that have been grown thickly in the rows and been stimulated with manure and high culture are too tender to stand the first winter’s exposure in the open ground, and will be liable to be killed down to the line of the earthbanking. In planting apple trees, if I can get them near at hand, I would select four to six-year-old trees—those one and a half to two Inches in diameter—rather than smaller trees. I am aware that this is not orthodox with the profession that prefer to sell small trees; but, in practice, the older trees have the advantage. They are less tender, and again they are respected by cattle and the rabbits; at least the owner compels the stocK to respect them, while the little, whip-like trees are left to themselves. In shipping long distances there is no choice but to take the small trees; but, now that nurseries are near at hand in all of our fruit-growing districts, there is no necessity to plant the small trees; at least they should not be planted in autumn. We commit an error in planting late in spring, as the early-planted trees do the best. The ground settles about them firmly, and the roots take an early start. At least over half of our spring setting is dune too Tate, and a 'latrge _ paTr”Of”thls" setting is lost by the dry periods that follow, and only in a rainy season are they saved. Great care in setting and mulching may mitigate the disaster, but cannot fully compensate for the late setting. As we go South the autumn and milder winter weather are favorable for fall setting, and it is much better than the spring. Ask Farmer B if we should set apple trees in the fall and he will give you a decided answer, and that answer is based, perhaps, on a single experiment. This kind of advice must be taken with some allowance; at least, we should know some of the conditions that made the experiment a Failure of a success. In teaching the farmer we must avoid arbitrary rules and rather give the rationale of the process. The culture of the soil and all the operations of the horticulturist should be based on the science of rural economy rather than the hap-hazard whims of ill-digested rules that may or may not be correct. The farmer who depends on a set of rules is generally a poor farmer, and will tell you that luck is everything; labile the man who reflects and has a regard for cause and effect depends on good management, and don’t believe in luck. ... .