Page 24 



BETTER FRUIT 



April 



RICHES,PIVER&CO. 



MAKERS OF THE FINEST QUALITIES OF 



arseina-te: or lead 



PASTE AND POWDERED 



BORDEAUX MIXTURE 



PASTE AND POWDERED 



BORDEAUX LEAD 



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CALCIUM ARSEIVJATE 



PASTE AND POWDERED 



RICHES, PIVER & CO., 30 Church Street, NEW YORK 



WORKS AND LABORATORY, HOBOKEN, N.J. 



Nitrate of Soda 



We want the Grower to get 

 Nitrate at a reasonable cost 

 — learn of its general use — 

 and make more money. 

 Write us. Free Literature for any fruit or crop. 



NITRATE AGENCIES CO., SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 



IMPORTERS AND DISTRIBUTORS 



Rosette and Cover Crops 



By 0. T. Clawson. Inspector at Large, Wenatchee, Washington 



ROSETTE has caused a great loss 

 to the orchardist of this as well 

 as other districts of the North- 

 west, and a great deal of experimenting 

 has been the result. Many of these 

 experiments have given partial results 

 or even perfect results under certain 

 conditions. In some cases dynamiting 

 has given good returns. The applying 

 of nitrate of soda, manuring, liming, 

 subsoiling, pruning and many other 

 cm-es have been used with varying suc- 

 cess, but the one cure which is given 

 almost universal credence is the i)lant- 

 ing of a leguminous cover crop, prefer- 

 ably alfalfa. While arguing for alfalfa 

 in the orchard early last year 1 made 

 the statement that "I could take anyone 

 to at least a hundred orchards in the 

 main valley where alfalfa had been 

 grown for three years or more and 

 that if anyone could show mc rosette 

 in any one of the orchards, I should 

 turn him my monthly check." More 

 or less publicity was made of this 

 statement with the result that three 

 supposed exceptions were cited me. 



The first case was that of a ten-acre 

 piece in East Wenatchee which had 

 been in alfalfa previous to setting the 

 orchard, which was then five years old. 

 About three-quarters of the place had 

 been kept almost free from alfalfa and 

 throughout this ])ortion the rosette was 

 rife. Many of the trees were so badly 

 affected that the owner was seriously 

 considering pulling them out entirely. 

 Probably three-quarters of the trees 

 showed rosette. On the other quarter 

 the alfalfa had been permitted to vol- 

 unteer and formed a fairly good stand. 

 In this (piarter of the tract one tree 

 showed slight signs of rosette. The 

 nearest bunch of alfalfa to this tree 

 measured eight feet from the base and 

 the second nearest fifteen. The second 



exception cited was at Cashmere. 

 Upon investigation it was found that 

 the alfalfa had been in only two sea- 

 sons. According to the statement of 

 the owner the trees had been so badly 

 resetted that he had seriously consid- 

 ered pulling them out. During the two 

 past years, following the seeding to 

 alfalfa the condition of the trees had 

 improved three hundred per cent and 

 he believed that if they continued to 

 improve another year as they had for 

 the last two, the third year woidd find 

 I hem entirely free from rosette. The 

 (bird place was at Wenatchee, where 

 there was rosette in an orchard which 

 had been seeded to alfalfa for four 

 years. There was no rosette whatever 

 in the alfalfa, but it was abundant in 

 a portion of the orchard not in alfalfa. 

 My statement was a rash one, but it 

 was made after carefully following the 

 results secured by the many ranchers 

 of North-Central Washington who are 

 using alfalfa as a cover crop. In this 

 district there are 7,(187 acres of orchard 

 in which alfalfa is used as a cover 

 crop. Clover and vetch are used with 

 more or less satisfaction also, but the 

 popularity of the alfalfa is illustrated 

 by the fact that there are 458..^ acres 

 of clover and 470 acres of vetch used, 

 as compared to the 7687 acres of 

 alfalfa. Very small plantings of peas, 

 rye and sweet clover arc also to be 

 found. A cover crop is rarely used in 

 an orchard before the trees reach the 

 age of five years, but where it is planted 

 earlier than that it is \n\l in strips with 

 six or seven-foot cultivation strips next 

 to the tree rows; with the idea of seed- 

 ing the cultivation strips when the 

 trees are old enough to stand the close 

 proximity of the alfalfa. In the few 

 orchards where the alfalfa has been 



put in too early the results have been 

 discouraging. 



It is generally considered that alfalfa 

 causes a heavy drain upon the moisture 

 supply during the first two years after 

 seeding. After the roots have become 

 deeply established and the tops are 

 large enough to shade the ground, little 

 if any more water is required than in 

 clean cultivation. In fact, many places 

 seem to indicate an actual saving of 

 moisture. What would seem to be the 

 ideal method of handling the crop is 

 the constant discing in of the alfalfa 

 tops, furrowing and irrigating until a 

 blanket of vegetable mulch from the 

 decaying alfalfa tops covers the entire 

 surface of the ground. But few of the 

 Wenatchee Valley ranchers use this 

 method. Some cut one crop of hay, 

 disc innnediately after cutting, irrigate 

 and then follow the first method for 

 the remainder of the year. This gives 

 excellent results. The greater number 

 practice the cutting of two or three 

 crops for hay and discing thoroughly 

 in the spring to work in the late 

 growth. In several orchards the al- 

 falfa has been left unmolested to grow 

 up and fall down; undisced, unculti- 

 vated and unfurrowed. One noted ex- 



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 over 40 years ex- 

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 Zerolene is scien- 

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from selected Califor- 

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 time you empty the crank- 

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 Dealers everywhere and at 

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 of the Standard Oil Company. 



ZEROLENE 



AeShndardOiliorIhlat(kii$ 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BFTTFiR FRUIT 



