26 OREGONWALNUTS 



dent to a large extent upon artificial water, the sub-soil should 

 be examined and never allowed to get so dry that when a por- 

 tion of the sub-soil is pressed tightly in the hand, and the fingers 

 removed, the soil naturally falls apart. After each irrigation, a 

 great deal of tillage should follow. 



As yet most of our orchards in the Northwest are so young 

 that artificial fertilization has never been resorted to to any 

 great extent. Where trees are lacking in vigor, or where the 

 land planted to orchard has been in grain for many years, it 

 will often be found advisable to add stable compost where it can 

 be obtained cheap and in large quantities. One cannot afford 

 to pay much for such fertilizer, however, nor will it pay to haul 

 it far. I doubt if it will pay the average grower to try the 

 commercial fertilizers. Experiment stations, from time to 

 time, are trying out such plant foods. It is only by careful 

 experiments that one can demonstrate the real value of any 

 element. Cover crops often can be sources of material aid to 

 the orchard. These should be planted the latter part of August 

 or very early in September. Under average conditions, the 

 seed should be drilled in at the rate of about forty pounds of 

 forage, or Oregon vetch, to about ten to twelve pounds of oats 

 or rye. It is essential that the seed be drilled in and be planted 

 early. 



Inter-Cropping and Use of Fillers. 



Since the walnut trees are planted so far apart forty or 

 fifty feet there is a considerable waste of ground the first ten 

 years of the orchard's life. The question which confronts every 

 walnut grower is how he can best utilize this area between the 

 trees, so as to bring in some cash return. As far as soil and 

 care of the trees is concerned, the best type of crops to grow is 

 truck garden crops, such as beans, peas, squash, melons ; small 

 fruits, such as strawberries, currants, and gooseberries; and it 

 would even be possible to use some cane fruits, such as raspber- 

 ries, and some men have tried such crops as loganberries. Strips 

 of hay, especially vetch hay, consisting of a mixture of vetch 

 and oats, can be used to advantage by many growers, since in 

 this way sufficient forage can be raised for the horses that are 



