TILLAGE FOE THE OECHAED 



II.— PREPARING ORCHARD LAND TO RETAIN 

 PRECIPITATION OF THE FALL AND WINTER. 



PROF. J. B. REYNOLDS, 



OF O. A. C, GUELPH, ONT. 



THE first preparation of orchard land for 

 the retention of moisture should be 

 done before the orchard is planted. Good 

 underdrainage is the prime essential. With- 

 out this, subsequent efforts at good tillage 

 will be more expensive and less effective. 

 Good underdrainage prevents destructive 

 surface washing, and increases the water 

 content of the subsoil. If there is good 

 natural underdrainage, artificial drainage is 

 not necessary ; but it must be seen to, be- 

 fore the trees are planted, that good drain- 

 age is provided. 



A second step in the preparation of the 

 land previous to planting, is deep cultivation. 

 By this, I do not mean deep plowing, neces- 

 sarily, although I see no objection to deep 

 plowing for the purpose. At any rate, the 

 loosening of the soil to as great a depth as 

 possible — however it is to be accomplished 

 — is the operation required. This opera- 

 tion, in common with drainage, produces 

 permanently good results. It allows more 

 water to enter and be retained by the soil. 

 But especially, it enables and encourages 

 the tree roots to strike deep into the soil, 

 into a region where they are safer from the 

 extreme frosts of winter or the extreme 

 droughts of summer. The roots that run 

 along just beneath the surface of the soil 

 draw their moisture more largely from the 

 chance showers of summer ; while those 

 that penetrate more deeply draw steadily 

 supplies from below, and are not dependent 

 upon the occasional and uncertain supplies 

 from above. 



With regard to subsequent operations, 



there are three methods in vogue for treat- 

 ing orchards, which will be discussed in turn 

 in their relation to the question under con- 

 sideration, namely, retention of moisture. 

 The three methods are : sod, clean cultiva- 

 tion and cover crops. 



Sod in Orchards. — This article is not to 

 be taken as, on the whole, commending 

 sods in orchards. Here, the object is to 

 point out the effect of sod in retaining 

 moisture in the fall and winter. The cover- 

 ing formed by surface roots and the dead 

 grass helps to prevent surface washing. 

 Also, the grass roots penetrating the sub- 

 soil help to keep the ground pervious, and 

 therefore increase the amount of water taken 

 into the soil. In the third place, grass 

 encourages the presence of earth worms, 

 which burrow into the ground, and have a 

 very beneficial effect in keeping clay orch- 

 ards porous and mellow. Thus, directly 

 and indirectly, grass has a good effect in 

 helping the soil to retain moisture. 



If, however, the grass is eaten bare and 

 the ground trodden hard by animals pastur- 

 ing in the orchard, these beneficial effects 

 will not follow. 



Clean Cultivation. — By this method no 

 crops of any kind but trees are allowed to 

 grow in the orchard. Weeds and grass are 

 kept down by continuous cultivation during 

 the spring and summer. For fall prepara- 

 tion, the proper treatment of the bare 

 orchard is to turn the ground up loose and 

 ridgy, to catch and hold the precipitation, 

 and to prevent snrface washing. 



This method of continuing clean cultiva- 



