CULTIVATION OF THE COMMERCIAL ORCHARD. 165 



when you mulch to supply the tree with the rich elements it annu- 

 ally absorbs in its crop of fruit. 



Cultivation of the Orchard before Bearing. Supposing that 

 the orchard has now reached an age where the majority of the trees 

 are in bearing, the value and consequent necessity of cultivation 

 is increased by the fact that the tree is now not only adding to its 

 growth in fiber and leaf but is also throwing out a large surplus of 

 its vitality in the production of a fruit crop. As soon as the frost is 

 out of the ground thoroughly, and the new spring shoots begin to 

 appear, cultivation should begin. Through the months of May, 

 June and July the cultivator should be run over both ways at least 

 once a week. The old rule was to cultivate after every rain. In 

 the eastern states, and wherever the rainfall is generally regular 

 and frequent, this rule is a good one, but here in the prairie country 

 we have found that the early summer drouths to which this section 

 is subject make it a rule that is not always safe to follow. When- 

 ever it does rain, the cultivation of the orchard should follow im- 

 mediately after, no matter when it was cultivated last. At no time 

 is the evaporation so rapid as when the surface soil is thoroughly 

 wet, and if we would retain all the moisture possible we must put 

 on our "blanket" immediately, and metaphorically lock the barn be- 

 fore the horse is stolen. But in this latitude the rains are neither 

 frequent nor regular, except in rare seasons, and our chief care is 

 to hold the moisture down during the three, four, five, six and some- 

 times eight weeks of drought with which we are all familiar. It is 

 during periods of this kind that the "dust blanket" has its greatest 

 value, and experience in the Jewell orchards, at Lake City, demon- 

 strate that this value is lost if the process of pulverization is not 

 kept up with continuous regularity. The moisture in the subsoil 

 is always coming toward the surface and naturally soaks into the 

 "dust blanket," destroying in a comparatively short time its efficacy 

 in holding the moisture down. The necessity of constant cultiva- 

 tion is thus easily seen. After the middle of August we generally 

 leave the soil alone, except in case of a rain, when a light cultiva- 

 tion is given, care being taken not to jar the trees. 



Weeds. A word should be said about weeds and grass in the 

 orchard. The thoroughness of cultivation which we advocate 

 would not give them a chance to start. We do not allow one spear 

 to show its head in our orchard, and this is a rule that should be 

 followed. Never let them get a start. If you are beginning culti- 

 vation on new orchard land, where the weeds have already obtained 

 a foothold, stamp them out with unrelenting vigor. Tenacious 

 weeds and plants should be pulled up by the roots and carted out. 



