Winter Meeting. 169 



L. C. Wilson — I would like to ask what is gained by turning the 

 soil? 



Dr. Whitten — Briefly we might say the gain is in the killing of the 

 weeds, airing and pulverizing the soil, letting the spring rains soak in and 

 letting the roots air out. Cultivation and turning the soil releases the 

 plant food, mellows and slacks the earth so as to increase its capacity 

 for holding moisture and food. It improves available food material as 

 well as the mechanical condition of the soil by actually turning it over. 

 Warming is important in the early spring as the roots should start when 

 the buds do. The turning destroys the fungus spores if done at the right 

 time and also the insect eggs by burying and covering or by bringing to 

 the top so as to freeze or bake them. 



L. C. Wilson — I have asked this question and it has been answered 

 and I hope it will be remembered by these young men for this is one 

 of the most important operations in orchard culture. 



E. G. Mendenhall — I would like to ask Col. Love if he has ever 

 used a cutaway?? 



Col. Love — No, I have never used one, because I do not think it will 

 cultivate the surface of the soil as well as the solid disc. 



Mr. Mendenhall — If a cutaway is used on sod it cuts clear under the 

 grass and across to the other line of the disc and the same with soil. 

 The grass is turned up in ribbons. This machine will cut weeds as 

 high as a horse's back and by going across four ways the weeds and soil 

 will be well stirred. 



J. W. Graves — How would a disc work on stony lands such as we 

 have around Neosho? 



Mr. Wilson — The cutaway slips over stones and cuts more than the 

 others. 



]\Ir. Mendenhall — The discs will not be injured by the stones. 



N. F. Murray — We have used both kinds in the orchard and the 

 difference is that the solid disc will not cut with as much force, but slides 

 over the hard parts, while the cutaway comes down harder and cuts 

 better. 



B. C. Auten — How many horses does it take to pull a four foot 

 cutaway. 



Mr. Wilson — For a 16 disc it takes a good, stout team. One team 

 can do it, but it has to be a good one. A cutaway finishes and throws 

 both ways in and out. 



Mr. Auten — At the fair I saw a traceless harness, can any one tell 

 me if it is any good? 



W. H. Barnes — A neighbor of mine has one hanging on a fence that 

 any one can have for the asking. 



