WINTERING A MINNESOTA ORCHARD. 435 
better. Poor land is a great deal more likely to dry out, and the orchard 
needs the manure to help it hold the moisture, so I would ad- 
vise thorough cultivation. I would cultivate pretty much during 
the whole season, and then I would mulch—I do not know that 1 
ought to say heavily, but I have mulched with coarse manure. 
If you have good manure I would put it on lighter, and those varieties that 
are likely to blight I would put on a mulch of straw or old hay. I would 
not put much manure on those varieties, but varieties that are not likely 
to blight I would manure pretty well. Then I would mulch about three or 
four inches deep, and I would spread the mulch around the tree three or 
four feet. I would also protect the trunks of the trees. If I were trying 
to do it just right, I would protect the bodies of the trees, tying something 
around. Professor Green spoke of cornstalks; that is good, or this lath 
protector can be used; but I would protect them clear around the tree. I 
have protected by tacking boards on the southwest side; that seems to 
serve the purpose, but sometimes trees die, and I cannot tell what kills them. 
(Mr. Lord: “Girdling.”) (Laughter.) That’s right. I would have this 
protection clear around. Sometimes in the spring, when we have cold 
weather we have a warm day once in a while, and the sun beats down, and 
the snow reflects the heat, and it thaws the tree a little distance from the 
ground. I have seen trees where six inches from the ground the snow re- 
mained a certain time and above that for about eight inches it was killed 
dead and brown, but above that the tree was all right. I think this pro- 
tection on all sides of the tree would prevent that. 
Mr. Philips (Wis.): I understand you have a good bearing 
orchard north of Owatonna. Now, how many acres are cultivated, 
how many are mulched and how many trees are protected? 
Mr. Dartt: I would say there were perhaps one hundred or 
a hundred and fifty trees protected with that board protection, but 
the board frequently gets knocked off in cultivating, and I have not 
thought enough of that kind of protection to replace it. A year 
ago last summer the old orchard was thoroughly cultivated, and 
last year I cultivated it early in the spring, ran a disc harrow 
through it, but we could not give it so thorough a cultivation be- 
cause I had so much to do. 
Mr. Yahnke: I like Mr. Dartt’s speech pretty well, and I am 
glad he is converted, but I want to convert him a little more. A 
year ago he would not have any manure in his orchard, but now 
he allows a little. A year ago I said I manured my orchard, and 
I manured it frequently, and I told him I should manure it next 
year. He prophesied that my trees would be all dead this year, but 
I have every one alive and some more too. (Laughter.) I have 
three thousand trees on my place (that includes my nursery), and | 
have had only three trees that blighted this past summer, and they 
did not have any manure for three summers; that was the Whitney 
No. 20. Now in regard to what Mr. Dartt says about protecting 
the trunk of the tree, there is a good deal in it. There is more in 
