788 THE FRUIT INDUSTRY ix NEW YORK STATE 



growth of wood that would not have time to mature and conse- 

 quently would be very liable to be injured during the winter. 

 Seeding down a cover crop in the summer decreases the food and 

 moisture available to the trees and thus checks this growth and 

 matures the wood. With late-maturing varieties of apples which 

 sometime fail to attain the desired high jolor, this hastening of 

 the maturity is very important. In this connection the character 

 of the season has considerable to do with the time of sowing the 

 cover crop. When the rainfall is light and the growth limited, 

 the time of seeding can be delayed until late in July or even the 

 middle of August, depending upon the crop and the location. 

 When the rainfall is above normal and trees are making a 

 vigorous growth, the cover crop should go in during the latter 

 part of June or early in July. 



FIG. 208. MAMMOTH CLOVER IN OCTOBER 



Land unprotected by a crop during the winter freezes deeper 

 and is more liable to heave than if protected. For this reason 

 tree and vine roots are more liable to be injured where cover 

 crops are not used. To secure this winter protection and as 

 much growth as possible, it is best to plow under the crop in 

 the spring rather than in the fall, but care must be taken that 

 this is done before it has made sufficient growth to rob the fruit 

 crop of plant food or moisture. 



Trees standing in a heavy cover crop over winter are more 

 liable to be injured by mice. For this reason it is well to keep 

 the cover crop at least two feet from the trunks. 



