11 Feb,., 1918.] 



Apple Culture in Victoria. 



81 



desirable renderiug down of the surface may be achieved by the einploy- 

 nient of a spring-tooth harrow or disc cultivator according to the nature 

 of the soil. The one horse, nine tine, spring-tooth cultivator illustrated 

 in Plate 148 is the type in most general use in the gmall orchards. It 

 is shown in the illustration as running on the skid, but by the handle 

 and rack adjustments the teeth may be lowered to work at the desired 

 depth. This cultivator may be made to follow a straight course by 

 lowering the circular blades a few inches into the soil. Then by ret^u- 

 lating the pull on the draw chains the harrow will cultivate the soil 

 close up to the trees. Larger cultivators of this type are employed in 

 orchards of more extensive areas. 



If the soil be hard and tenacious, and consequently not amenable 

 to working with the spring-tooth harrow, the ordinary disc cultivator 

 is ernployed to reduce the surface some distance from the trees to the 

 required state of tilth. To meet the contingency of working the 



Plate 147— 



Fig. 1. Single Furrow Orchard Plough of modern type. 

 Fig. 2. Double Furrow Plough constructed on similar principle to 

 that shown in Fig. 1. 



portion between and around the trees, however, the one-way extension 

 disc cultivator shown in Plate 149 is brought into use. This cultivator 

 is so consitructed that the section of dished discs on the right cultivates 

 the soil right up to the trees, when set as shown, and to plough off, it 

 is only necessary to reverse the section by means of the adjustment. 

 The horse travels in line with the driver's seat on the extreme left, and 

 both are out of the way of limba. The section of circular discs, without 

 dish, under the driver's seat enters the ground and counteracts all the 

 side thrust. 



Fruit trees often suffer considerable damage by having their branches 

 broken and portions of the bark of their stems removed by the old- 

 fashioned swingle tree and long trace chains still used in some orchards. 

 Particularly is this so when the work of cultivation is being performed 

 by incompetent or careless drivers. The chance of injury to the trees 

 may be reduced to a minimum by employing orchard harness of the 



