ORCHARD TILLAGE. 



'E have frequently pointed 

 out in these pages the 

 necessity of thorough cul- 

 tivation of the orchard. 

 The notion was prevalent twenty years 

 ago that an apple or a pear orchard would 

 thrive in grass, and many growers plant- 

 ed large orchards on their hardest land, 

 thinking thus to reap harvests without 

 the tough labor of ploughing and dig- 

 ging. It has taken all these years to 

 prove conclusively the mistake of such a 

 notion ; each year of barren trees or of 

 scarcity of fruit was thought exceptional 

 until at last the hateful truth has dawn- 

 ed upon the planter that his ground and 

 his trees were both wasting his time and 

 his money, and that no high grade fruit 

 would ever be produced without the 

 same hard work and thorough cultiva- 

 tion that was necessary for garden crop. 

 Added to the crop failure is the 

 change in markets. Twenty years ago 

 apples of almost any grade would sell at 

 $2.50 per barrel, but now only A i 

 apples will bring such a price, and second 

 grades are not salable unless to the 

 evaporator or the cider mill. Evidently 

 then we must most completely change 

 our methods to suit the changed condi- 

 tions, and tillage is the first and most 

 important consideration. Bailey arranges 

 the benefits of tillage under three heads 

 thus : 



1. Tillage improves the physical con- 

 dition of the land, (a) by fining the soil, 



(b) by increasing the depth of the soil> 



(c) by warming and drying the soil in 

 the spring, (d) by reducing the extreme 

 of temperature and moisture. 



2. Tillage may save moisture, (e) by 

 increasing the water-holding capacity of 

 the soil, (f ) by checking evaporation. 



3. Tillage may augment chemical 

 activities, (g^ by aiding in setting free 



plant food, (h) by promoting nitrifica- 

 tion, (i) hastening the decomposition of 

 animal matter, (j) by extending these 

 agencies (g h i) to greater depths of soil. 



Bulletin 40, Kansas Experiment Sta- 

 tion, is so much in point that we quote 

 it at length as follows : 



There is no longer any question as to 

 whether the orchards should be cultivat- - 

 ed. Experience everywhere shows that 

 cultivated orchards live longer, bear 

 better and are more profitable than un- 

 cultivated orchards. Many of the ex- 

 periment stations of the best fruit pro- 

 ducing states have tried uncultivated 

 orchard.s beside those that were culti- 

 vated and have collected opinions of 

 the most observant fruitgrowers of their 

 sections, and the considerate verdict in 

 almost every case is that cultivation is 

 necessary for healthy trees and first-class 

 fruit. The principal orchardists of the 

 state have expressed themselves on or- 

 chard cultivation. Out of 272 reports 

 made to the Secretary of the State 

 Horticultural Society, 130 advocate 

 thorough cultivation till bearing time, 

 and 130 urge continuous cultivation as 

 long as it is possible to enter between 

 the rows with horse and implement. 

 Most of those advocating cultivation till 

 bearing time only, live in the lower 

 Kansas river district where the soil is 

 very rich, deep and moist, and will pro- 

 duce fine crops of clover. The general 

 practice in this district is to cultivate 

 well till the trees are in full bearing and 

 then seed to clover. West of Manhat- 

 tan, clover does not succeed. Even if 

 it should succeed it would not be pro- 

 fitable to sow it from the fact that all 

 the moisture that falls in this region is 

 required by the fruit trees, and any crop 

 whatsoever simply robs them of the 

 moisture they should have. For this 



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