NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



255 



spring or it will rob the ground of its mois- 

 ture. Crimson clover is one of the best 

 cover crops, where it succeeds ; Mr. D. J. 

 McKinnon, of Grimsby, has had excellent 

 results with it, while at Maplehurst, an al- 

 most adjoining fruit farm, we have had fail- 

 ure during two successive seasons. 



If once it takes hold, it helps to seed itself, 

 so that if one can succeed with the first sow- 

 ing perhaps the successive crops would be 

 more certain. 



We have had good success with Canada 

 peas, sown in August, they furnish nitrogen 

 and consequently improve the land. They 

 are not destroyed by the early frosts. The 

 cow pea has been much boomed, and in the 

 Southern States it is perhaps the very best 

 cover crop, but at the north it is killed out 

 by the earliest frost. 



THE HAIRY VETCH. 



1^ HE Hairy or Winter Vetch ( Vicia vil- 

 losa) has already been referred to in 

 these columns as one of the very best cover 

 crops for the orchard. It is not a rapid 

 grower in the hot weather, but in the cool 

 months of autumn it becomes quite vigor- 

 ous and covers the ground completely. It 

 is one of the best nitrogen collectors. Analy- 

 sis has shown over 200 lbs. of nitrogen per 

 acre, for a growing period of three and a 

 half months, as the result of growing this 

 plant. The only difficulty is the present 

 scarcity of the seed. This, however, will 

 soon be remedied, for the seed is easily 

 raised, and if an orchardist can only procure 

 a small quantity to start with he can easily 

 grow sufficient for his own use each year. 



OATS AS A COVER CROP. 



I'* WO years ago, at a meeting of fruit 

 growers in Rochester, we heard a re- 

 presentative fruit grower from Michigan 

 say that in his state oats was the favorite 

 cover crop. We have not yet tried it, but 

 have several times mentioned it as possibly 



desirable, but usually the criticism was ad- 

 verse because it would winter kill. None 

 of the critics, however, have had confidence 

 enough in it to try it, and therefore none of 

 them could speak with authority. Now 

 comes the report of the Michigan Station for 

 1 90 1, in which the Horticulturist, L. R. 

 Taft, speaks of oats as a cover crop as fol- 

 liws : 



" Oats seeded alone as an orchard cover 

 crop grew 15 to 18 inches high. They held 

 snow and leaves well during the winter, less- 

 ened the freezing and thawing of the soil, 

 and also prevented the soil from freezing to 

 as great a depth as on uncovered soils. The 

 lessening of the injury from frost is con- 

 sidered one of the most vitally important e- 

 sults to be secured with orchard cover crops. 

 Where oats was used as a cover crop the 

 ground in the spring was practically free 

 from weeds and remained moist considerably 

 longer than where other crops were used. 

 The oats was easily worked in with a disc 

 harrow, and it is estimated that the cost of 

 cultivating the orchard when oats was used 

 was fully one-third less than when crimson 

 clover was sown. Rape and turnips used 

 as cover crops, while fairly satisfactory, 

 were unsightly during the winter and gave 

 off an offensive odor. Crimson clover 

 seeded with oats was less satisfactory than 

 either sown alone." 



APPLES IN THE ORILLIA DISTRICT. 



SECRETARY CREELMAN, of the 

 Provincial Department of Agriculture, 

 and Alex. McNeil, of the Dominion Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, visited Orillia last 

 month at the request of the Board of Trade, 

 to look into the apple-producing capabilities 

 of the Orillia district. The members of the 

 Board of Trade did everything possible to 

 put the visitors in the way of securing the 

 information required. Committees were 

 appointed to drive them from place to place. 



