FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT. 153 



duce deep root systems not so apt to be injured bv freezing or drought. 

 After this the soil should be frequently stirred to produce a shallow soil 

 mulch and prevent baking or crusting of the surface and the consequent 

 heavy loss of moisture by evaporation. The cultivation will also kill 

 all weeds which are drains ui)on the soil moisture and available plant 

 food. It also liberates the plant food and assists in decomposing any 

 or all })lant food that may be turned under. 



About the first of August, cultivation slumld be stopped so that the 

 trees will have an opportunity to matui-e and harden the season's growth 

 and buds and prepare them for Avinter. At the last cultivation some 

 plant, to serve as a cover cro]). should be sown. This will absorb and 

 conserve much available plant food that would otherwise be lost. It 

 also prevents Avashing of the soil, holds the leaves and snow during the 

 winter, and in the spring, when turned under, furnishes a considerable 

 quantity of humus to the soil. If the soil is in need of nitrogen, such 

 plants as clovers, vetches, peas, etc., should be used, othenvise, oats, 

 barley or buckwheat. If it is desirable, hoed crops, such as corn, pota- 

 toes or beans may be raised among the trees. The cultivation necessary 

 for them will usually suffice for the trees. They should not be planted 

 nearer than 3 or 4 feet from the ends of the branches, however, and 

 greater care will need to be taken to maintain the fertility of the soil. 

 Grain crops, such as wheat, rye or oats, should never be raised among 

 the fruit trees, as they are heavy users of moisture and plant food. A 

 clover sod may be grown between the rows, if sufficient space is left 

 along the rows to cultivate. On the steep side of hills, or rocky fields, 

 which should be avoided if possible, sod or straw mulches may be sub- 

 stituted for cultivation. Such a method, however, encourages surface 

 root systems that are liable to injury in winter or drouths. 



In cultivation, care should be taken to cover the ends of the whifflee- 

 trees with leather or rubber, and high hames or other projections on 

 the harness should be discarded to avoid barking the trunks and limbs 

 of the trees. A muzzle upon the horse's nose will avoid many nipped 

 limbs. 



In addition to the cultivation, the trees need to be fed to make them 

 thrifty. There is nothing better for this than barnyard manure, if 

 applied late in winter and also in the spring, so that the trees get the 

 benefit early in the season. Two or three handfuls of nitrate of soda 

 incorporated into the soil about the tree, but not in contact with the 

 roots, several times in the season will be very beneficial. It is very 

 quickly available and should be used with great care. Unleached hard- 

 wood ashes will furnish potash and lime that assist the tree in making 

 a firm wood growth. Small quantities of phosphates will assist the 

 trees in appropriating the other plant foods and help to mature the tree 

 in the fall. 



It is necessary, also, to keep the trees from from all injurious insects 

 and diseases. Of the leaf-eating insects, there are the canker worms, 

 cut worms, tent caterpillar, fall web worm, bud moth and tussock 

 moth. These may be controlled by the use of some arsenical poison as 

 arsenate of lead or Paris Green. Cut wonns can usually be controlled 

 by scattering two or three handfulls of a mixture of Paris Green and 

 bran or Paris Green and finely cut clover leaves on the ground a few 



