The Cultiv^ation of Orchards. 301 



ideal length of trunk is under four feet rather than above it, and 

 implements now in the market allow of this lower training. Trees 

 which have low tops or which hang low with fruit can be reached 

 by separating the halves of any of the double harrows by means 

 of a long doubletree, so that the halves, when adjusted, run from 

 four to six feet from each other. A cut-away harrow rigged in this 

 way will work away the back-furrows from under the trees during 

 the season. All cultivators or harrows with high handles, wheels 

 or levers should be discarded if orchards are worked when the 

 limbs bend low with fruit. 



This labor of working about trees is greatly facilitated by the 

 use of harnesses which have no metal projections. There should 

 be no hames with elevated tops, and the turrets on the back-pads 

 should be simply leather loops. The back-pad itself should be 

 reduced to a single wide strap entirely devoid of wadding. Har- 

 ne.ss of the Sherwood type, with no traces, but drawing by a sin- 

 gle chain between the horses, are excellent in orchards, as they 

 require no whiffietrees. Such harness is shown in the cover illus- 

 tration. 



It will now be asked what crops ma}^ be grown in the orchard. 

 Grain and hay, never ! Any hoed crops may be used for the first 

 few years ; but it must be remembered that every crop competes 

 with the trees for food and moisture, and whatever may befall the 

 crop, the trees should not be allowed to suffer. An open space 

 should be left about the tree, free of crops, at least several feet in 

 extent. In fact, this space should correspond with the spread of 

 roots of the tree. Corn and some other plants will appropriate 

 moisture more quickly than can the tree. In orchards set less 

 than twenty feet apart, the land should rarely be cropped after the 

 third year ; but apple orchards, if well cared for, may be cropped 

 lightly for seven or eight years. In no case should the grower 

 expect to secure as much crop upon orchard land as upon other 

 areas ; and the drier the land, the less should it be cropped. 

 When the orchard comes into bearing age, give it the entire land. 

 Thereafter, the most profitable crop to raise is cultivators ! 



The growing of nursery stock in orchards — a frequent practice 

 in Western New York — should be discouraged. This crop makes 

 essentially the same demands upon the land as the orchard itself, 



