294 AGRICUI.TURS O^ MAINE. 



berry, currant and gooseberry bushes, and strawberry plants, 

 also plum and pear trees, to supply the household through the 

 year with their essentials to good health. 



PRUNING, 



The great secret of success in young orchard growing, is to 

 have a definite form of tree in mind and to aim to reach that 

 ideal by a systematic plan of pruning. Trees should be started 

 with a low head, say three, or at the most four feet from the 

 ground. Cut to three or four branches, preferably three at 

 first, with the tips of these cut back, allowing lateral branches 

 to start for the next year's growth so as not to induce a growth 

 of long ungainly branches. Aim to have a not too compact 

 head so that the sun will have a good chance to get at all of 

 the foliage. The amount and nature of the pruning will depend 

 in a great measure on the variety of tree, as some varieties 

 tend to spread, like the Wealthy and King, and others to grow 

 upright, like the Spy. 



The orchard needs constant care in this respect and should 

 be gone over at least once a year. This should be done in the 

 late winter or early spring before the buds begin to swell. Do 

 not allow limbs to get too large before trimming as it leaves a 

 large scar. The larger the scar the longer it will be in healing. 

 With young trees care should be taken to prune terminal shoots 

 that have a tendency to reach too far out. 



For pruning old trees see section under "The Old Orchard," 

 page 288. , 



COVER CROP. 



A cover crop should be sown by the middle of July or first 

 of August. Clover is one of the best cover crops, as its roots 

 penetrate deep into the soil to conserve moisture and to store 

 up nitrogen. A series of experiments were conducted at one 

 of our State Stations. An orchard was sown about the middle 

 of July to red clover. An analysis taken in October gave 87 

 pounds of nitrogen per acre as stored up by the clover. 



Sow from twelve to fifteen pounds of red clover to the acre 

 the last of July or as soon after haying as convenient. If the 

 ground is so rich that too rank a growth is secured, mow the 



