Winter Meeting. 205 



Spring of 1900, the trees were laden with bloom and a large crop 

 set. Again, I gave thorough cultivation and sowed to cow peas. 

 Now, I am sure this was a mistake, for such a heavy crop of apples 

 and a short drouth in August was too much for the supply of mois- 

 ture, so my apples failed to be what they should have been. Had I 

 cultivated through July and August and used the humus and nitrogen 

 stored up two previous years, I could have gathered a large crop of 

 fine fruit. 



Now, how to fight a drouth like 1901 and how I did fight it is the 

 question. Commenced to cultivate with rolling plows or cuttawa}' 

 disc harrows, followed with drag and harrow to pulverize the clods. 

 This was kept up until late in summer when it looked as if it were 

 useless to continue. I felt sure, to stop would not do, so I got the 

 heaviest roller I could find and rolled the orchard both ways. Then 

 went over it with a fine tooth harrow and continued thig cultivation 

 until September ist. I never had such foliage and good growth. My 

 trees held their foliage until killed by frost. I got a crop of apples 

 that sold for $2.00 per barrel for No. i and No. 2 (that being all I 

 asked for them) and the purchaser packed and furnished barrels. 



We made some observations in July when a cloud of dust would 

 follow the harrow and found we could remove two inches of dry 

 dust and find moist soil beneath, while just out in the fence row where 

 there had been no cultivation you could dig for six inches and find 

 nothing but dry ground. Hence, we conclude that _rolling and fol- 

 lowing with fine tooth harrow is the best way to hold moisture. We 

 have learned that if we will commence early and cultivate we can 

 carry our orchards with a full crop of fruit through a drouth that 

 will ruin other farm crops. In fact, I would not dare write what I 

 think can be done for an orchard, with proper cultivation when soil 

 has plenty of humus and nitrogen stored up during good season. 



President Murray. — The same subject by K. B. Wilkerson, 

 Mexico, Mo. 



Mr. Wilkerson. — I have to make the excuse of a school boy with- 

 out his lesson, I guess. I am not prepared, but I will speak a few 

 moments on the subject of fighting the drouth. The reason for not 

 preparing a paper, and I am ashamed to say it, is that business has 

 been so that I could not give it any time whatever, and one cause of 

 that business being so I could not, was this drouth. That is what 

 put me in such a shape that I had to fight for the business to keep 

 it in the right line. Now with us at the present time, we still have 

 the drouth and the railroads are hauling water to supply the engines 

 that come through there, and the streams and rivers, most all of them, 



