No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 601 



the planters would learn the art of producing fruits of quality by 

 placing quality before quantity. The great need of the fruits of 

 this country is a reputation, such as the best of them deserve. To 

 obtain this, seconds and culls should be eliminated. To do this again 

 requires expert kiio\\iedge skilfully applied. No man should plant 

 extensively until he is satisfied that he has such knoAvledge or is de- 

 termined to acquire it immediately by application in hard labor, both 

 mental and physical. Fruit growing is no sinecure for either the head 

 or the hand. A beautiful apple has demanded the application 

 of both brains and muscle for its production, and "plenty of money" 

 to X)ut into the business cannot possibly be made to take the place 

 of these. 



For the production of such fruits as we should grow in this 

 region several elements are necessar}', but the first is a well grown 

 tree of the proper variety. During the first five or ten years the 

 orchardist should devote his attention to growing good, large, healthy 

 trees rather than attempting to grow crops between his trees or 

 forcing them to bear young. It is true that the more vigorously a 

 tree grows the later Avill it come into bearing, but at the same time 

 it is true that it will be forming a large top which will give a 

 greater quantity of fruit, and within a few years will be yielding 

 a far greater income than will be obtained from a stunted tree which 

 commences to bear remarkably early. The more a tree is neglected 

 and injured by borers, skinning with farm implements and other- 

 wise, the earlier will it commence to bear; but bearing while young 

 means limiting its growth, reducing its vitality, and shortening its 

 life. There is no profit in attempting to produce large crops on very 

 young trees. The purpose of the orchardist should be to grow good- 

 sized, well-shaped trees before the time for them to commence to 

 bear, and then change his methods of cultivating, fertilizing and 

 pruning to such an extent that they will afterward devote their 

 energy to bearing fruit instead of producing wood. 



Keeping in mir^ 1 that the purpose of orchard growing during 

 the first five ^o ten years is to produce fruit, we may, however, at 

 the same time grow certain crojjs between the trees without injury 

 to them, and if the tree row itself is properly cultivated, and the 

 intercrop receives the right kind of cultivation, this may really be 

 the best treatment for the orchard and can give returns for helping 

 to meet the expenses of tree-growing, which so few persons reckon 

 with before planting. These annual expenses before the trees come 

 into bearing are indeed heavy, as they include the cost of such opera- 

 tions as pruning, spraying, fertilizing and cultivating, and generally 

 continued without income from the trees just about twice as long 

 as most planters believe at the time of planting. 



During the first three years in the orchard any cultivated crop 

 can be grown between the trees (peach) with successful restrlts if 

 ])roperly fed and cultivated. Between apple trees they can be con- 

 tinued twice as long. The best of such crops are those in which the 

 cultivation ends by mid-summer and which can thus be followed 

 by crimson clover to groAv and remain on the ground as a winter 

 cover crop, to be turned under the next spring. Among these are 

 early cabbage, peas, beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, early potatoes, etc. 

 One large orchardist in the State of New York makes a business of 

 growing soup beang m M» orchard and considers it very successful. 



