Summer Meeting. 49 



About the time clover seeds ripe I start my mower. I have a 

 7-foot cut mower and drive the team near the middle of the row, let- 

 ting the sickle run under the limbs near the body of the trees. I remove 

 track cleaner from cutter bar to prevent it from rubbing the under side 

 of the low limbs. I go over the orchard twice in a row with the 7-foot 

 cut machine, cutting next to the trees. I then follow up with a 5-foot 

 cut machine, driving team on left edge of the space left in the middle 

 of the row, returning on the last swath cut, finishing up the row ex- 

 cept a narrow strip in tree row, which I cut with scythe. I don't like to 

 delay this cleaning up, as there are always weeds to grow and get large 

 and hard to cut that are not noticed when they are young and tender. I 

 mow over the ground the second time later if it seems necessary to 

 keep weeds down, but if trees are loaded with apples the team and 

 mower will knock off too many, and cutting should be done with scythe. 

 I have no doubt but what a better crop of apples can be raised by 

 thorough cultivation if the season is dry, but with such heavy, washing 

 rains as we have had the past two years clover is better than cultivation. 

 I would disk up and harrow the ground down smooth early in spring 

 at least once in two years, and if clover seed have ripened the volunteer 

 crop will be good without re-seeding. After all fruit has been gathered 

 if there is a heavy coating of dead clover or grass I advise cutting or 

 plowing rows occasionally to prevent fire spreading should it get 

 started by accident. An apple orchard containing a good stand of trees 

 12 to 15 years old that have been properly cared for and headed low 

 with the lower limbs bending over with their loads of fruit to the 

 green sward beneath and the higher limbs lapping over those of the 

 adjoining trees is a sight that is pleasant for the owner to look upon, 

 and an attraction to the buyers that are sure to hunt them up, and the 

 profit from such a crop is many fold greater than that of any other 

 crop from the same land. 



DISCUSSION OF ORCHARDING. 



Secretary — The term well-bred varieties is incorrectly used. We 

 should say selected. The scions are selected, not bred. The selec- 

 tion is made for typical characteristics, hardiness, productiveness and 

 continued bearing. 



Mr. Todd — In justice to nurserymen, we should remember not to 

 lost sight of the old orchard; these were planted on the best land 

 and were protected, while today we plant the hundred and thousand-acre 

 pieces and in this commercial planting the work can not compare with 



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