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deal to do with our failure on the pears. 



I always used to plow in the fall, turning the soil towajd 

 the trees in order to shed water. Lately I have done away 

 with the practice, merely running the flat eutivator and leav- 

 mg the ground level all through the summer. In the spring 

 I put on a cultivator and loosen the soil, leaving it just as 

 rough as I can. If you get a lot of rain, the soil hardens 

 down, but if you use a flat tooth cultivator you will keep a 

 dry mulch all the time which seems to hold the moisture in 

 good shape. 



Another very good thing for an orchard is to plant some 

 crop which will remain for the whole year in every other 

 bay, and in the other bays put in crops you can cultivate. I 

 had one orchard where I planted dandelions. The season 

 was very dry and the crop large. I hurt that whole orchard 

 and it didn't get over the results for quite a while, but the 

 effect didn't discourage me. It was a good thing in one way 

 for it formed a lot of fruit buds for next year. Since that 

 experience I have planted one bay to crops of that kind, and 

 kept the other cultivated, reversing the operation next year. 

 It seemed to check the trees just about enough. I have also 

 done that with peach trees. 



On the question of pruning the trees, I believe more 

 trees are hurt from over-pruning than in any other way. I 

 think people cut out too much. I think you can train a tree 

 and save an awful lot of cutting. A tree will grow up thick, 

 but you can spread it out with a lath or something and you 

 will be surprised how you have opened up that tree. When 

 you find limbs that are lying down, take a piece of hose and 

 run a wire through it, and put it under the limb and raise 

 the branch to position. You will be surprised how this sys- 

 tem saves the limbs. 



I think trees want to be renewed about every so often 

 and when you see them commence to throw out suckers, it is 

 time to change over^ You can see a place where you may 

 cut off a limb and let one of these new shoots grow, and after 

 that vou verv seldom will be troubled by other suckers. I 



