CORNELL UNIVERSITY EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 338 



(Tables I, II, III, Bulletin 45). These plots contained 15 plants each. 

 Samples 9 to 9c are from a plot which received a single application of 

 nitrate of soda of 3 lbs. June 20; No. 11 received the same total amount 

 in four applications. 



Samples 12 and 12a are from a plot to which a liberal dressing of good, 

 fine stable manure was applied. 



The soil in all these plots is a fairly good, dry and high gravelly loam. 



It is plain from these figures that there was no uniform variation in 

 the quality of the tomatoes. The differences are as wide between differ- 

 ent fruits of the same plot as between the different plots. The variations 

 in sugar in the samples from the same plot are well shown in 5, 5a, and 

 56, in which the readings run from .69 to 1.22. We hope to repeat the 

 experiment the coming season. 



THE VETCH OR TARE AS AN ORCHARD PLANT. 



Orchard lands are nearly always benefited by some cover or mulch dur- 

 ing a part of the year, especially during fall and winter. One of the 

 values of sod lies in the protection of the soil, but a sod can not be 

 obtained in a single season. If orchards can be cultivated in spring 

 and early summer and then protected with some growth which will 

 shade the soil and keep it moist during the remainder of the warm 

 weather and afford some protection from frost during winter, the best 

 results will undoubtedly be obtained, as a rule. This cover crop should 

 also afford fertilizing materials to the soil when turned under, and 

 greatly improve the mechanical character of the soil, as well. 



The leguminous plants — those belonging to the clover family -at once 

 suggest themselves because they are rich in nitrogen, and may therefore 

 serve both as cover and fertilizer. We have tried mixed beans and field 

 peas, but there are objections to both, although either one is probably 

 better than weeds or bare ground. This year we have tried the European 

 vetch or tare ( Vicin sativa), seed of which we obtained of J. M. Thor- 

 BURN &Co., New York. This plant is grown for forage in England. A 

 half bushel of seed was sown June 16 upon five eighths of an acre of heavy 

 clay loam. It was sown broadcast upon a freshly prepared surface, and 

 well dragged in. The seed could have been sown later with equally as 

 good effect, no doubt, and the cultivation of the orchard could have been 

 continued for ten days or two weeks longer. The young trees of pear, 

 plum, and apricot have made an excellent growth this year among the vetch. 

 The vetch started somewhat slowly and the seeding seemed to have been 

 too thin; but by the middle of September the ground was covered thickly. 

 Frost came October 1, but the vetch was not injured and it continued to 

 grow until the middle of the month, and remained green still longer. It 

 made a remarkable cover, growing knee high in a dense mat and every- 

 where completely covering the ground. It began to flower in September, 

 but no seeds ripened except upon a few poor spots. Upon light soils, 

 seeds would probably form freely, but the plant is an annual and is not 

 likely to become a weed. The roots do not extend deep. With the 

 approach of bard freezing weather, the stalks fell upon the ground, where 

 they now lie like a thin even covering of old hay. The stems are soft 

 and can be easily plowed under in spring and will soon decompose; and 

 they will not keep the soil wet too late in spring, which is an important 



