326 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



or three inches, made and kept so by cultivating immediately after 

 any rain that compacts the surface of the ground. Where such 

 cultivation cannot be given a light covering of clover or other fresh 

 mown grass will answer the purpose almost as well if applied when 

 the soil is in the right condition and renewed as needed. 



To sum up, the best practice seems to be a light mulch im- 

 mediately under the trees where it cannot be reached with the har- 

 row or cultivator and a frequent stirring of the surface soil between. 

 The mulching to save labor is in most cases a snare and a delusion. 

 The mulching does not hold the moisture as the cultivating will. I 

 consider good and thorough cutivation of the utmost importance 

 in the growing of fruits of any kind, but there are times when it 

 is not practicable to continue it wnth the small fruits. Strawberries 

 should not be cultivated from the opening of spring until the season 

 of fruiting is over, or the fruit will be a dirty, gritty mess. They 

 should have a liberal mulch of clean straw or prairie hay between 

 the rows until the fruiting season is past, and a light covering of the 

 rows through the winter to help keep out frost and prevent exposure 

 to changes of weather or frequent freezing and thawing. Rasp- 

 berries and blackberries are better for shallow cultivation in the 

 early part of the season, but when the fruit begins to color the 

 ground about them should be liberally mulched — and the best ma- 

 terial for the purpose is green fresh mown clover. 



The dust mulch produced by frequent cultivation is the only 

 one suitable for the successful production of grapes in our climate. 

 The only danger from continuous cultivation of bearing orchards 

 seems to be the exhaustion of humus, without which the soil will 

 become hard and compact. This in a great measure can be remedied 

 by the growing of suitable cover crops. Common peas, cow peas or 

 buckwheat, sown at the last cultivation about the first of August, ro- 

 tated with clover about every third year and to be plowed under 

 shallow when in full growth, are among the best cover crops, but no 

 crop of forage should be removed from the ground. 



Mr. J. S. Harris : I would like to tell you why heavy mulch- 

 ing is sometimes dangerous. A year ago last winter a great many 

 trees were root-killed in this state that were heavily mulched. If 

 they had not been mulched so heavily before the fall rains there 

 would have been a good many live roots. They were mulched be- 

 fore the rains came, and as no moisture reached the soil beneath 

 them during the fore part of the winter the consequence was that 

 the roots were killed, while trees near by where the snow only had 

 . collected came through in good shape. Where you use heavy mulch 

 in 'an orchard to save cultivation it is dangerous. I knew a man 

 who put on a half load of barnyard manure every year, and for three 

 of four years he had the reputation of having the finest orchard 



