28 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



This view shows you the spring method of treatment of the or- 

 chard, and how we plow between the rows in the springtime. 

 Nearly all of our orchards are on more or less of a hillside. 

 The orchards themselves are located upon a kind of over-crested 

 hill, having all exposures and all grades, and this is a moderate- 

 ly steep grade. We plow between the rows, going as close to 

 the trees as we can get comfortably with horses, and I think 

 close enough. In trees of that age, which are about twenty 

 years old, the root system becomes so extended that the whole 

 surface of the ground is covered with a net work of roots. 

 The strips on the side hill serve to hold the wash of the land, 

 and also serve to hold the trees in a certain equilibrium by keep- 

 ing the fruit upon the trees and allowing it to color more highly 

 than it would if entirely clean cultivation was practiced. 



Question. That is on a hillside. Now if you plow that a 

 number of years how would you avoid ridging on the upper 

 side of the row of trees? 



Ans. The very first step after plowing those strips bet\veen 

 the trees is to level that land off and fill in the open furrow on 

 the upper side and throw in furrows that are plowed out on the 

 lower side. Of course that is quite a bit of work, but it is abso- 

 lutely essential if you desire to keep your land level so that 

 when you put on a cover crop and roll it down you have every- 

 thing in nice shape. 



Question. W^ill not a disc harrow do the work cheaply, and 

 as well, instead of plowing? 



Ans. A double action cutaway harrow would, such as I am 

 using now. I don't think very much of a disc harrow, because 

 it leaves the land uneven, but the double action cutaway harrow 

 I consider a most valuable tool for any farmer's use. 



Question. What cover ciop do you use most? 



Ans. I use a cover crop of clover and barley in mid-summer. 



Here is a picture of a two-year-old orchard. In this section 

 of orchard we have been growing corn. I cultivate the young 

 orchards for about four years, growing potatoes, corn and 

 sometimes tobacco. I have grown tobacco up to within a few 

 years, and sometimes market garden truck, like cabbages or 

 tomatoes. 



The next slide shows an orchard, practically the same block 

 of trees you were shown in two other views. It is in a differ- 



