126 Peach-Growing 



Yet the possibility of peach trees not ripening as early as 

 desired when the orchard is seeded to a vigorous growing 

 leguminous cover-crop under some conditions is suggested, 

 and according to Hedrick the opinion that a peach orchard 

 seeded to such a crop might suffer more during the winter 

 than with no cover-crop at all is reported to be confirmed 

 by practical experience, though it does not appear to be a 

 conviction commonly held by peach-growers. It is a matter, 

 however, that growers may do well to keep in mind. 



In order to help the peach-grower in deciding on the 

 kind of cover- or green-manure crop that will best meet the 

 needs he has to consider, the following notes on the charac- 

 teristics and adaptations of the plants most widely used 

 for these purposes are here given. 



The different crops are mentioned below in the general 

 order of their importance and the extent to which they are 

 used. The order of arrangement is intended to be only 

 approximate as showing in this way the crops which are 

 widely used and those of regional or minor importance. 

 The leguminous crops, those which gather nitrogen from the 

 air, and the non-leguminous crops, are grouped separately. 



Leguminous crops 



As a rule, leguminous crops, to do best, need a fairly good 

 supply of lime in the soil. They do not thrive on acid soils. 

 Moreover, in growing any of the legumes where they have 

 not before been cropped, the soil usually needs to be inoc- 

 ulated with the proper nitrogen-gathering bacteria for the 

 particular crop that has been selected. Without such 

 inoculation, unless the soil already contains the right kind 

 of bacteria, the crop is likely to prove a failure and in any 



