176 ELEMENTAEY AGBICULTUEE 



the year, before the hot months of midsummer, so 

 it is during the spring months that they need plenty 

 of food and moisture. Then is the time to cultivate 

 the orchards. More than nine-tenths of the fruit is 

 water, and we know that tillage is very helpful in 

 saving moisture. The drier the season, the more 

 the harrow and cultivator are needed. After- July, 

 when the growing period is over, a crop may be 

 sown on the orchard to be plowed under later as 

 green manure (Fig. 94). 



Injury to Trees. In tilling orchards, care must be 

 taken not to injure the trees. The grass and weeds 

 that grow close to the trunk of the tree do very 

 little harm, and they had better be let alone, rather 

 than run the risk of injuring the tender bark of the 

 young tree. 



Pruning. If young trees are well pruned when 

 they are set out, they will need very little more 

 trimming until they begin to bear. Shoots that 

 ,cross each other and interfere with other branches 

 should be removed. When branches are likely to 

 become too crowded, the knife should be used. Many 

 fruit growers change the shape of their trees to 

 their fancy by pruning. They cut the tops back so 

 the trees will spread out instead of growing tall, for 

 it is difficult to spray a tall tree, and the fruit is 

 harder to gather. 



Spraying Fruit Trees. All fruit trees have ene- 

 mies which the farmer must fight. More than 

 twenty-five years ago a man who was employed by 



