Mulberry.—Both for fruit and ornament the mulberry should be more generally planted. Even if the fruit is not to the taste, the tree is naturally open-centered and round-headed, and is an interesting subject; some of the varieties have finely cut leaves. The fruits are in great demand by the birds, and after they begin to ripen the strawberry beds and cherry trees are freer from robins and other fruit-eating birds. For this reason alone they are a valuable tree for the fruit-grower. Trees may be purchased cheaper than one can propagate them.
If planted in orchard form, place them 25 to 30 feet apart. About the borders of a place they can go closer. The Russian varieties are often planted for windbreaks, for they are very hardy and thrive under the greatest neglect; and for this purpose they may be planted 8 to 20 feet apart. The Russians make excellent screens. They stand clipping well. The fruit of the Russians varies in quality, as the trees are usually directly from seed; but now and then a tree bears excellent fruit.
New American, Trowbridge, and Thorburn are leading kinds of fruit-bearing mulberries for the North. The true Downing is not hardy in the northern states; but New American is often sold under this name. Mulberries thrive in any good soil, and need no special treatment.
Nuts.—The nut trees demand too much room for most home-ground fruit plantations, although they are also useful for windbreaks and shade. The hickories, all American, make excellent lawn trees, and should be better known. The filberts and cobnuts, small trees or bushes, are not successfully grown in this country except in very special cases.
The commercial nut-growing in the United States and Canada is chiefly of almonds, walnuts, and pecans, with some attempt at chestnuts. Of these the chestnut is the most adaptable for home places in the northeastern section.
Of chestnuts there are three types in cultivation: the European, the Japanese, and the American. The American, or native chestnuts, of which there are several improved varieties, are the hardiest and most reliable, and the nuts are the sweetest, but they are also the smallest. The Japanese varieties are usually injured by the winter in central New York. The European varieties are somewhat hardier, and some of the varieties will thrive in the northern states. Chestnuts are very easily grown, although the bark disease now threatens them. They usually bear better when two or more trees are planted near each other. Sprouts in old chestnut clearings are often allowed to remain, and sometimes they are grafted to the improved varieties. The young trees may be grafted in the spring by the whip-graft or cleft-graft method; but the cions should be perfectly dormant, and the operation should be very carefully done. Even with the best workmanship, a considerable percentage of the grafts are likely to fail or to break off after two or three years. The most popular single variety of chestnut is the Paragon, which bears large and excellent nuts when the tree is very young. When the home ground is large enough, two or three of these trees should be planted near the borders.
Orange.—Oranges are grown extensively in Florida, in places along the Gulf, and in many parts of California, but in the most favored sections there is occasionally some injury from cold or frost to the trees or fruit.
The soil preferred for oranges in California is a rich, deep alluvium, avoiding hard-pan or adobe subsoils. Stagnant water in the subsoil is a fatal defect. Although they can be grown near the ocean at a lower level, an elevation of 600 to 1200 feet is generally desirable. While southern California is particularly adapted to orange culture, the fruit is successfully raised along the foot-hills of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys and in other parts of the state.
In Florida, pine lands with a clay subsoil are generally preferred for oranges, but if properly handled, good results can be obtained from hammock land. As elevated spots cannot be secured, a timber belt surrounding the orchard or along the north and west sides is desirable.
The distance for the large-growing kinds of orange in the orchard is from 25 to 30 feet each way, but the half-dwarf kinds, such as Bahia or Washington Navel, may be as close as 20 feet each way, although 25 feet will be desirable. If the roots are sacked, the trees should be placed in the hole without removing the covering, and the soil should then be packed about them; but if they are puddled, a mound should be made in the bottom of the hole. In the center an opening should be made into which the tap-root can be inserted. After the soil has been firmly packed about it, the other roots should be spread out and the hole filled with good soil, packing it carefully. Care should be taken that the roots are not exposed in handling the trees, and if the weather is hot and dry, the tops should be shaded. Water may often be used with good results in settling the soil about the roots.