Adaptability for Fruit Growing. 145 



freezing, and to keep snow drifting away and rain from running off and 

 freezing, and to lieep snow from drifting away and rain from running off and 

 causes it to warm up sooner in the spring. 



Tlie practice of clean culture means the giving up of most of these 

 advantages ; you do indeed conserve moisture by shallow cultivation, and you 

 may urge that you would lose it by growing a crop, which evaporates large 

 quantities of water and dries out the ground ; and It is true that for the first 

 season, or perhaps two, it will make the ground dryer than if you had simply 

 kept an earth mulch on it, but after that the humus you have added will retain 

 moisture so effectively that you can go on growing crops without scrimp- 

 ing the trees in the least, and all the additional advantages of the humus will 

 accrue to you gratis. 



Now inasmuch as the cover crop has a tendency to dry out the soil for 

 the first season or two, I believe in clean cultivation for that space of time in 

 newly set orchards, as younger trees can scarcely grow too vigorously the' 

 first two years, and such growth requires a liberal supply of water. By 

 stopping cultivation about the first of August you will encourage the trees 

 to ripen their wood. For the next half dozen years, or until the shade is 

 getting pretty broad and dense, the cover crop can be used most effectively. 

 Put it in after the trees have made most of the growth for the season — . 

 early in July will be late enough — and plow or disc it under next spring, 

 then keep the ground well cultivated until sowing time comes again. I would 

 use a leguminous crop like soy beans, crimson clover or field peas once in three 

 or four years whether the soil seemed lacking in nitrates or not- — perhaps in 

 combination with turnips or rape. If grain is used, it should never be allowed 

 to form heads, as it then dries the soil very rapidly, oats being especially bad 

 in this respect. It is important that this cover cropping should begin while 

 the orchard is young, as increasing shading of the ground makes it more 

 difllcult each year to grow a satisfactory crop under the trees, and the ground 

 should be thoroughly stored with humus while it is still possible to grow heavy 

 crops. When cover cropping becomes somewhat difficult, I would seed down 

 the orchard permanently to crimson clover or some good grass, and at harvest 

 time mow it and let it lie where it falls as a mulch. If your trees are so broad 

 topped and close together that you cannot secure even a moderate stand, you 

 can still do better than to leave the ground bare, by spreading well-rotted 

 manure evenly over the surface, which will gradually add to the humus of 

 the soil, and help to maintain both moisture and fertility. 



ADAPTABILITY FOR FRUIT GROWING. 



By Hon. E. L. Smith, President Oregon State Board of Horticulture. Read before 

 the Northwest Fruit Orowers, Portland, January, 1904. 



Adaptability, or the suitableness of conditions, is a significant word in 

 the vocabulary of the commercial fruit grower. In the few minutes allotted 

 to me I can only briefly discuss some of the essential points of a comprehensive 

 subject, and am confident that your criticisms will develop facts of greater 

 value than any I have to offer. 



I think we will all concede that locality is a matter of prime importance 

 to the prospective fruit grower, and that one of the essentials of a proper 

 location is adequate transportation facilities. But little dependence can be 



HOR. 10 



