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BETTER FRUIT 



Page 1/ 



Palmer Fruit Sizer 



Sorting 



Table 



with 



Power 



Feed 



Belts 



Standard Machine 



Floor space 6x24 feet. 



Sizes three grades at a time. Capacity two carloads daily. 

 First grade into nine sizes. 

 Second grade into four to six sizes. 

 Third grade into three to tive sizes. 



Pony Machine 



Floor space 6x12 feet. 



Sizes two grades at a time into four or six sizes as desired. 

 Capacity one carload jier day. 



Either machine can be used for boxes or barrels. Openings on both 

 machines expand uniformly from 1^ inches to 4 inches square. 



Illustration shows sorting table attachment; also travelling belts 

 for sorting table. 



Machine discharges the fruit into boxes or barrels without bruising. 



Box packing can be done direct from the machine or, if preferred, 

 on separate tables, giving the grower a chance to work his packers on 

 the particular sizes and grades he wishes packed first. 



Write or wire for catalogue and prices. 



August edition will 

 have illustration of 

 Pony Fruit Sizer. 



PALMER BUCKET COMPANY, 



Hood River, 

 Oregon 



Cover Crops for Bearing Irrigated Orchards 



THE following discussion is based 

 upon a farni-to-farm study of the 

 use of green manures and cover 

 crops in the Yakima and Columbia 

 River valleys, particularly in Benton 

 County. Most of our irrigated soils are 

 naturally deficient in nitrogen and or- 

 ganic matter. The practice of clean 

 orchard cultivation has also greatly 

 aggravated this condition by causing 

 the vegetable matter of the soil to decay 

 and disappear. Hence the importance 

 of orchard soil improvement by means 

 of green manure and cover crops. 



Many orchardists early appreciated 

 the importance of maintaining soil fer- 

 tility, and during the last ten or twelve 

 years the various cover crops have 

 been extensively tested; consequently, 

 very satisfactory methods of growing 

 and using these crojjs have been worked 

 out. This paper is the result of a study 

 of these farm methods. The primary 

 purpose of this paper is: (1) to present 

 the soil-building value of green man- 

 ures and cover crops; (2) to discuss the 

 growing and management of the crops 

 found best adapted to this purpose, and 

 (.3) to show how cover crops may be 

 profitably used for hay and pasturing 

 swine. 



As previously pointed out, most of 

 our irrigated soils are deficient in nitro- 

 gen and organic matter. Under these 

 circumstances the following conditions 



By Lee M. Lampson, Pullman, Washington 



u.sually prevail: The water-holding ca- 

 pacity of the soil is too low; desirable 

 bacterial life is insuflicient; the soil 

 dries out quickly; available plant food 

 is inadequate for good crop yields; the 

 soil is improperly aerated. In addition 

 to the above, the fine-grained soils run 

 together and bake and are dilRcult to 

 cultivate. Green manure and cover 

 crops correct these conditions. The 

 roots of these crops permeate the soil 

 to a considerable depth. The addition 

 of vegetable matter makes most soils 

 more friable, increases their water- 

 holding capacity, improves soil aera- 

 tion, increases bacterial activities — in 

 short, builds up soil fertility. 



The cover crops in use at the present 

 time in Benton County may be divided 

 into two classes, the cereals or small 

 grains, and the legumes. The cereals — 

 wheat, oats, barley, rye, etc. — are not 

 the best crop to use as green manure 

 or cover crops. Orchard soils usually 

 need both humus and nitrogen. These 

 crops cannot make use of the atmos- 

 pheric nitrogen, and when plowed 

 under or worked into the surface soil 

 add only vegetable matter but little or 

 no nitrogen. Generally speaking, they 

 do not do well on gravelly and sandy 

 soils. They also require the expense 

 and work of resecding each year. \Miile 

 it is sometimes necessary to sow rye in 

 order to keep sandy soil from drifting. 



the use of this crop in this way should 

 only be considered as a preparation for 

 one of the permanent leguminous crops. 



Leguminous crops, when grown under 

 favorable conditions, have the nitrogen- 

 gathering nodules on their roots. They 

 are capable of increasing the nitrogen 

 content of the soil by using the nitro- 

 gen in the atmosphere. This is a very 

 important point, since arid sage-brush 

 land is low in nitrogen. In addition to 

 this, when plowed under the legumes 

 increase the vegetable matter in the soil 

 .just the same as do the cereal crops. 

 The legumes generally used for green 

 manures are red clover, hairy or win- 

 ter vetch, and alfalfa. 



Used as a cover crop, clover adds 

 both hunuis and nitrogen to the soil 

 and is easily eradicated. It is not as 

 good a crop for our localities as vetch 

 or alfalfa. Clover requires consider- 

 ably more water than alfalfa and a 

 great deal more than vetch. Its root 

 system is near the surface, and in order 

 to keep the clover growing the upper 

 layer of soil must be kept too wet for 

 the trees. Orchards may be injured, 

 not only temijorarily but permanently, 

 by such over-irrigation. Clover is also 

 easily crowded out by grasses and 

 other weeds. If it is sowed solidly in 

 peach orchards and left more than two 

 years, in nearly every case the foliage 

 of the trees becomes yellowish and the 



