284 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



high state of fertility for the peaches, and if the weather is favorable as 

 to moisture, it comes up readily and makes a very good mat before we 

 are ready to pick peaches, and makes a cleaner and better orchard to 

 work in. We tramp it down, of course, a great deal, in gathering the 

 crop, and prevent its making much headway or growth. As soon as the 

 crop is off in the latter part of September, the ground is harrowed over 

 lightly, with a smooth harrow, and oats or rye put in, and then we get a 

 good growth that starts up the clover, and we get a good growth of one or 

 the other, and there is no trouble about that. Our friend who objected 

 to Prof. Craig making his seeding so early, because it prevented cultiva- 

 tion, can readily get around that by sowing such crops as can be put in 

 with drills. You cultivate and stimulate a more rapid growth of the 

 catch-crop, whatever it may be, at the same time give the cultivation to 

 your orchard as late in the season as you care to do. I do that with 

 cow peas and soja beans particularly. 



Mr. Post : Mr. Stearns rather got the start of me there. I have been 

 experimenting the last two years with Crimson clover and oats, and 

 I get the best results from sowing even a small quantity of oats. I sow 

 about the middle of September for the best results, and this year my 

 plum orchard was very heavily loaded. They were tramped until I 

 thought the crop was ruined, but now you see very little difference 

 between w^here it was tramped and where it was not. It came on very 

 nicely and the crop was not killed. The Crimson clover and oats were 

 sown about the middle of September, with about a half bushel of oats, 

 and the clover and oats are both looking very nicely now, but I think 

 the prospect is better where the oats are, and better yet where they were 

 sown very thinly. 



The President: We have some neighbors down our way who of recent 

 years have commenced using oats alone, and they report excellent success 

 with them in peach orchards. Now, my own opinion is that the less green 

 stuff there is in an orchard in the spring, when I commence working it, 

 the better it suits me. Most of us find, if there is anything green draw- 

 ing upon the moisture of the soil, that the last plowing may find it pretty 

 well drained out; that is, the tree may be needing the moisture that we 

 have already taken out; while the oat crop is dead, it has served its pur- 

 pose of holding leaves, and leaves the soil in better mechanical condition; 

 then it is easily turned under, there is no evaporation of moisture to 

 amount to anything, and the soil is in prime condition. Rye has been 

 tried quite generally, and almost invariably before we get the last of the 

 rye plowed under the tree is injured and shows it through the season, 

 by the drawing out of moisture at a time the tree is calling for lots of it. 



A Member: How much oats do they sow, and when do they sow 

 them? 



The President: I think the neighbors that I have in mind are sowing 

 a bushel or a bushel and a half of oats, sowing them in August or Sep- 

 tember, and doing whatever work is necessary on top of that crop, and it 

 seems to succeed very well. 



Mr. Shriver: I have been sowing oats now about three years and I 

 like it. We sow them in August and we do not find any bad results from 

 tramping over them and picking the fruit. I think we sowed about 300- 



