180 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Culture. — The next great mistalce commonly made in this state is the 

 practice of over-cropping a young orchard the tirst few years, and failure 

 to cultivate well the succeeding years. The topic assigned me refers en- 

 tirely to the care and culture of young orchards, but I feel that it would 

 hardly be complete without the above preliminaries, so I have incorpo- 

 rated them into the article as a sort of text. Care and culture begin after 

 an orchard is set, so we will suj^pose our orchard location has been prop- 

 erly selected, properly plowed, subsoiled, rolled, harrowed, and made 

 mellow at least sixteen inches deep, if clay land, or eight or nine inches 

 deep if sandy soil; that we have made a careful selection of trees, as 

 regards age, size, variety, and vitality; that we have set them early, on 

 true lines, at proper distances apart; have taken pains to avoid exposure 

 of roots, and to set carefully; that we have not placed any manure in cod- 

 tact with the roots; that we have not tried any washes or mixtures on 

 root or body. Then our vi ork of culture begins. 



It is a common practice to plant some hoed crop between the trees, 

 the first few years, and while a limited amount of such cropping is advis- 

 able, if proper crops are selected and best of care given, the fact is that 

 suchcroppiugis almost universally carried too far. In fact, a majority of 

 our farmers seem determined to exhaust the soil by some sort of cheap 

 crop before the orchard comes into bearing. This, it should be borne in 

 mind, is a fatal mistake. Close observation and experience have con- 

 vinced me that in the end our orchards would be more profitable if there 

 was never any crop planted between the rows, but strictly first-class 

 cultivation given from early spring until about August 1. or perhaps a 

 little later if the season is very dry. The only exception I would make 

 to this rule w^ould be in th.e case of the peach, as I would prefer to grow 

 some crop that matured not earlier than September, in the peach orchard, 

 the object being to exhaust the moisture from the soil during that month, 

 thereby assisting the tree in maturing its foliage and wood before cold 

 weather; but nothing can be much worse than the practice of growing a 

 crop that will mature in July or August. In short, the months of May, 

 June, and July must be devoted to securing the best possible growth, and 

 the months of August, September, and October to maturing the same 

 and getting it read^^ for winter. 



Among the best crops to grow between the rows of trees, the first year, 

 I would mention corn and potatoes, but neither should be planted very 

 early, as they will begin the exhausting process too soon to allow the trees 

 full development. After the first year the orchard will prove to be more 

 profitable if never cropped but well cultivated, and right here arises one 

 of the most serious obstacles in growing a perfect orchard. A large 

 majority of our farmers give an orchard absolute neglect if they do not 

 have a hoed crop planted in it. But now, let me impress this idea upon 

 ^ou: An orchard is a crop; a valuable one, and needs and will pay for 

 as good culture and fertilization as any crop you ever had on your farm. 

 The present condition of Michigan apple orchards is a striking illustra- 

 1ion of the lack of proper knowledge, or indifference, of the average Mich- 

 igan farmer. June-grass, weeds, insects, and fungi have had possession 

 of most of them for years, and the owners swear that apples don't pay 

 any more; but now we find bright men in nearly every township who 

 were not contented to lose their most profitable crop in that way, and 

 have begun a thorough system of cultivation and spraying for insects 



