SUMMER MEETING AT OREGON. 83 



cultivate each way; leave a space six feet wide, north and south of the 

 trees, to give them air. Keep the weeds and grass away from around 

 the trees, work around the trees often with a hoe; cut the corn off 

 the ground when ripe. Burn nothing in the orchard, for trees are easily 

 damaged by fire. Cultivate the orchard until the trees begin to bear 

 freely. Do all the cultivation early in the season, so the trees may have 

 time to mature their young wood before winter. 



Bearing orchards may be seeded to clover and pastured by young 

 hogs; especially on the prairies where the trees have no protection and 

 headed low down, the hogs will pick up all the wormy apples, and keep the 

 clover from killing out, and the weeds from taking possession of the 

 orchard. Keep the old hogs out of the orchard; they will damage the 

 trees. 



• Bearing orchards in the timber should be headed up and well cul- 

 tivated each year without any growing crop. The first year after the 

 orchard is planted out, the young trees make a large growth. This is 

 the time to prune and shape the trees. If you wait a few years you will 

 have to cut off big limbs to shape the tree. Attend the trees while 

 small. It is but a light fob then and does not injure them. 



You must keep an eye on your orchard. Never trust to providence 

 or your hired hand, for a careless hand will do more damage in an 

 orchard than he will do good. Keep all tramps out of the orchard that 

 are around after jobs of pruning. Let no man prune in your orchard 

 without you know he is a skillful hand at the business. Wrap your 

 young trees early in the fall to keep the rabbits from barking the trees. 

 The best material to use is screen wire. It will keep the borers and 

 mice away from the trees as well as the rabbits. The wire will cost 

 about twenty-two cents per yard, and one yard will make five guards. 



The apple tree grows well when planted in new rich soil. It does 

 not need any fertilizing then. When trees are bearing five barrels 

 of apples to the tree, then is the time to keep up the tree in good 

 growing condition. The large trees soon absorb all the substance they 

 can reach, when they begin to fail. They are like a mule lariated to a 

 stake — the mule is all right while the grass is good within its reach, but 

 when the grass is gone Mr. mule must have feed or he goes down, and 

 that is the way with an apple tree. Apple trees should be pruned the 

 most when there is an off year, and should have plenty of barnyard 

 manure. This is one of the causes of so many trees dying. They are 

 starving for sustenance. Give plenty of manure and you will preserve 

 your trees and have plenty of apples. Don't pile the manure up around 



