CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL. 81 



when they work near the line of trees, one before the other, 

 or tandem. Let a boy ride the forward one use long traces 

 and a short whiffletrec, and place the whole in the charge of a 

 careful man who knows that one tree is worth more than fifty 

 hills of corn or potatoes, and no danger need be feared. In 



FIG. 115. FIG. n6. 



the absence of this arrangement, oxen will be safer than horses. 

 A strong single horse will be sufficient for working near the 

 rows, where the plough should run shallow, provided the soil 

 is not hard. 



The annexed cut (Fig. 117) shows a mode of constructing 



whiffletrees for this purpose, so as to pass the trees freely. 



It is made as short as the free action of 



Ijj the animals' legs will allow (about six- 

 teen inches for a single whiffletree). 

 An iron strap is riveted so as to bend 

 B round the end of the wood, turning in 

 . t > , A and forming a hook inside. 

 99 u ^4* In very small trees, most of the roots 



FIG. u 7 .-Orchard Whiffle- are within a few feet of the stem, but 

 tree - their circumference forms an annually 



increasing circle. Hence the frequent practice of applying 

 manure, or digging the ground closely about the base, as ex- 

 hibited in the annexed figure (118), is comparatively useless. 

 Hence, too, the practice of ploughing a few furrows only or. 

 each side of a row of large trees in an orchard, is greatly in- 

 ferior to the cultivation of the whole surface. 



Among the crops which are best suited to young trees are 

 potatoes, ruta-bagas, beets, carrots, beans, and all low-hoed 

 crops. Indian corn with its shallow and spreading roots, and 

 the culture usually given it, is a good crop for orchards. All 

 sown crops are to be avoided, and grass is still worse. Mead- 

 ows are ruinous. 



A chief reason of the fatal effects of sown crops is in the 

 6 



