448 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



THE MULCH VS. CULTIVATION. 



J. O. BARRETT. 

 (A reprint from the "Northwestern Farmer.) 



Notwithstanding the authorities, only experience settles themulcb 

 question. That success follows its usual application is no doubt 

 true in cases where conditions require it, and it is equally true that 

 in other cases it is a positive failure. Where the soil is well mixed 

 with sand, preventing baking, there is a virtue in the mulch in that it 

 measurably prevents undue evaporation of moisture in the soil' 

 But even then, if nothing more is done for the plants, they may "live 

 at a poor dying rate." As a rule, naen depend on it solely to keep 

 their plants healthy, just piling round the manure and doing noth- 

 ing more. An English horticulturist avers that "mulch is the sub- 

 terfuge invention of the lazy American." 



For many years I have tried the common mulch, straw manure,. 

 to protect my trees planted in a black loam beneath which are noth- 

 ing but gravel and sand, and they have almost invariably perished 

 under the treatment. Meeting with continued losses year after year 

 though I replanted every spring and again piled on the manure, I 

 at last abandoned the nasty stuff that so disgraced the lawn and 

 garden and was certain to prevent the ingress of water from a casual 

 shower; plowed under some well rotted manure, cultivated the soil 

 faithfully, and, presto, change, my trees and all my plants generally 

 have rejuvenated under the old time regime. They now survive the 

 summer heat and the wintry chill. I also tried a similar mulch on 

 my prairie farm, that has a clay stratum under the black soil, and 

 my trees lacked in the vigor which they exhibit now without the 

 mulch. 



What neutralizes the virtue of the mulch in the prairie part of the 

 state where I live is the tendency of the soil (having in it an element 

 called gumbose) to form a thick, hard crust during hot, drying sea- 

 sons. It forms under the mulch just as hard as outside of the 

 mulch. The mulch then is surely a peril, for it adds to the smoth- 

 ered condition of the roots. The root must have a circulation of air 

 the same as the leaves. If strongly encrusted, the plants perish the 

 same as they do when the roots are planked or cemented over by the 

 sidewalks of the city. We can rescue our plants if we early throw 

 off the mulch when the crust is forming, break it up fine, water the 

 famishing roots and let in some air. But why permit such condi- 

 tions of soil by the "hug" of the mulch? Any one can see that this 

 is running a needless risk and is more work than "the good old 

 way" of management by having no mulch on at all. In lieu en- 

 rich the soil below the surface, subdue all weeds and grasses, and 

 keep the soil light and permeable by frequent stirring, thus manu- 

 facturing the fine and efficient "dust blanket." 



As a rule, I do not think it wise to plow manure under for forest 

 trees, unless the soil is very sterile. Generally our prairie soil ia 

 already rich enough for such trees. But apple trees and small fruit 

 plants need richly manured soil to feed upon and amply reward us 

 with fruits, For such put the rotted manure down where the roots 



