Wijiter Meeting. 197 



two German neighbors who have grown more apples than any two men 

 I know. They do not cultivate. Last fall they had a magnificent crop 

 of fine fruit. One of them said he had eight successive crops without 

 cultivation. They had clover in their orchards, mowed it and left it 

 under the trees. I live only three fourths of a mile away from them ; 

 yet when we left one orchard without cultivation the result was disas- 

 trous. "You pay your money, you take your choice." I don't know 

 anything about it, and I don't know anybody who does. 



J. F. Wilcox, of Buchanan county recommended little cultivation, 

 use disc harrow for cultivation, sow in clover, cultivate every second 

 spring. He keeps his orchard in good condition in this way. 



Mr. Callaway, of Illinois. — I would like to know what you people 

 think of sowing oats late in the season, about the last of August. 



Mr. Gilkeson. — I have no experience. Kellogg, of Michigan, rec- 

 onmiends it for a covering during winter. 



J. J. Kiser. — I sowed oats this fall. I believe the theory is right. 



]^. F. Murray. — I believe in it as theory, and regret that we don't 

 sow them. Mr. Bagby sowed one half of a block of 800,000 peach 

 "buds in oats in August. In the oats the buds were badly killed. Where 

 there were no oats they were all right. 



L. A. Goodman. — I think rye is the best thing you can put in the 

 orchard. The next spring you have a nice coat to turn under. It is 

 one of the best things to protect the orchard during the winter. So 

 far my experience is very favorable. We sow sometimes as late as 

 November. It made quite a nice growth even so late. You can turn 

 it under or cut it very early and let it lay. Plowing in October seemed 

 to do no harm; the trees did not start a new growth. 



INJURY BY DROUTH.— CAN WE HELP THE TREES ? 



By J. E. May, Wilson. 

 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



When our worthy secretary wrote me he had assigned me the 

 above subject and requested me to prepare a paper for this meeting, my 

 first thought was to write him that I could not, for be it known I 



