190 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



August, Idl3 



Cover Crops are an Important Pha*e of Modern Orchard Practise 



It is not too late in mogt districts to sow a cover crop of buckwheat. A buckwiheat crop in the 

 orchard of C. A. Wade, Sarnia, is shown. 



varies. Some are made by turning a 

 furrow with a plow, while others are 

 made of iron, wood, or cement. The 

 open wooden flumes are the most com- 

 mon. They permit the water to be car- 

 ried over a depression and also prevent 

 loss by percolation, which is the great 

 fault with the open furrow. If the loca- 

 tion of these ditches is permanent, ce- 

 ment or wooden pipes placed under- 

 ground are without doubt the best. This 

 permits free cultivation and care of the 

 orchard and gives the advantage of hav- 

 ing water under pressure. They permit 

 the most economical use of water, and 

 although somewhat exp)ensive to install, 

 are nearly permanent and often prove 

 to be cheaper in the end. The water is 

 taken from these underground pipes by 

 means of upright iron pipes located at 

 each row of trees. Sometimes cement 

 stands are built in the field and the water 

 supply controlled by valves placed in 

 them. 



Having located the main ditches, the 

 rest is simple. The laterals are made 

 ' with a single-shovel cultivator or a one- 

 horse plow, the distance apart varying 

 from three feet in sandy soils to five or 

 six feet or even more in the heavier 

 soils. Never get them closer to the tree 

 than a foot and a half. It not only en- 

 dangers the trunk of the tree from 

 single-tree injury, but is unnecessary be- 

 cause the feeding roots are located at 

 the tips of the main roots and not at 

 the base of the tree. 



In irrigating vegetable, grain, or hay 

 crops, these ditches are made from three 

 to five inches deep, but in the orchard 



they may profitably be made from seven 

 to nine inches deep. These deep ditches 

 permit the water to flow on rather solid 

 soil, thereby preventing washing, and at 

 the same time permitting the land to be 

 irrigated without wetting the surface 

 mulch. The water used in wetting the 

 surface mulch, when shallow ditches are 

 used, is lost by evaporation when culti- 

 vation is resumed, therefore, it is of no 

 value to the orchard. These deep ditches 

 are not always successful on light soils, 

 but have been found very satisfactory on 

 the ordinary orchard soil. 



CLASSES OF CROPS 



Irrigated crops are divided into two 

 classes, cultivated and uncultivated. In 

 general the uncultivated crops require 

 more water than do the cultivated ones. 

 Oats require more than corn, and al- 

 falfa more than potatoes. At the same 

 time differences are found in the same 

 crop. Take, for example, the apple- 

 one variety will be found to make a large 

 growth, while another will only make a 

 moderate growth with the same amount 

 of water. The same variety will often 

 vary under similar soil and climatic con- 

 ditions ; the shy bearer will make much 

 more growth than the bearing tree. It 

 will be noticed that all fruit trees make 

 less growth when in bearing. Recogni- 

 tion of this point when irrigating will 

 often save unnecessary pruning. 



In irrigating potatoes, one often gets 

 undesirable results. The first irrigation 

 should not be given until needed, as 

 potatoes do not thrive on a saturated 

 soil. No set date for the first irriga- 



tion can be given because of climatic 

 variations. The main points to remem- 

 ber are to apply the water in sufficient 

 quantity to moisten the soil well and then 

 turn it off and cultivate to conserve what 

 you have applied. This permits the 

 ground to warm up and growth starts 

 again. 



WHEN TO lEEIQATB 



Small applications of water at short 

 intervals tend to cool the ground and 

 prevent strong growth. On the other 

 hand, avoid letting the ground get real 

 dry, thereby checking the growth. When 

 this happens the potatoes make a second 

 growth when more water is applied and 

 the result is poorly shaped tubers. It 

 is seldom necessary to apply water after 

 they are in full bloom. 



The same general principles hold true 

 with all crops, whether grain, vegetable, 

 small fruit, or orchard. The Dest re- 

 sults can never be obtained by applying 

 water at stated intervals of five, ten, 

 or twenty days . The best plan is to ap- 

 ply when the crop needs it, use enough 

 to thoroughly moisten the soil beyond 

 the roots of the crop and then conserve 

 it by careful cultivation. If one is limit- 

 ed to one day a week or two days in 

 every ten, the best plan is to divide the 

 land into several divisions, irrigating one 

 well each time rather than a larger area 

 poorly . 



It will be seen from the foregoing that 

 careful thought and consideration must 

 be used in order to secure the maximum 

 returns from irrigation. The amount of 

 water required varies according to the 

 soil, crop, manner of application, and 

 the skill of the irrigator. The import- 

 ance of water is continually increasing, 

 partly because of the improved methods 

 of application and partly because of the 

 increasing knowledge of the irrigator. 



The learning of the "why" is very 

 important, for this teaches "how" and 

 "when." 



Buckwheat as a Cover Crop 



B. Blanchard, Hants Co., N. S. 



There are a number of crops that are 

 suitable for cover crops, such as : buck- 

 wheat, rape, vetch, peas and clover. 

 While buckwheat does not take free nit- 

 rogen from the air as do clover and oth- 

 er legumes, and thus add nitrogen to 

 the soil, yet it has several good points 

 in its favor. 



In thc' first place, with buckwheat it 

 is comparatively easy to get a catch, 

 even when sown quite late in the season. 

 We have known occasions when a seed- 

 ing of vetch did not take and buckwheat 

 was sown afterwards with good results. 



Then, again, buckwheat will produce 

 a good crop on soil on which most other 

 crops would starve. In the renovation' 



