SPECIAL FARM TOPICS 189 



man does comparatively little. In intensive methods the opposite 

 is attempted ; nature is assisted in every possible way and encouraged 

 to do her utmost, the aim being the production of the largest quan- 

 tities and of the finest quality per acre. As year after year the 

 country becomes more thickly settled, land becomes scarcer and 

 more valuable and intensive methods must gain prominence. Even 

 now certain individuals are criticized for attempting to farm too 

 much land more than they can handle profitably. (Y. B. 1904.) 



There is no crop to which the application of intensive methods 

 of cultivation can be better applied than to that of the orchard. 

 The demand for fruit is constantly on the increase, and prices are 

 always remunerative. One of the principal methods goes to the 

 care of the orchard and the judicious use of a cover crop. An or- 

 chard cover crop checks the growth of the trees at the season of the 

 year when rapid growth is dangerous; it protects the growth from 

 frosts and when plowed under adds to the humus of the soil. 



The plants used for cover crop purposes may be placed in three 

 classes, namely, the nitrogen gatherers, the potash plants, and the 

 ordinary ones used without special reference to the addition of plant 

 food to the soil, as rye, oats, buckwheat, and perhaps weeds. The 

 nitrogen gatherers are so named because they are associated with 

 special forms of bacteria of the soil which extract free nitrogen from 

 the air and store it up in the tubercles on the roots. The nitrogen 

 so stored is in an organic form and after the death of the plants soon 

 becomes available food for other plants. These are also called legum- 

 inous crops, and are the cow peas, soy beans, clovers, vetches, alfalfa, 

 Canada peas and velvet bean. They store up varying amounts of 

 nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, the amounts being influenced 

 by climatic and soil conditions. This class of plants can be used to 

 great advantage to improve soil more or less poor in humus and the 

 nitrogen compounds. The prchardist should not make the mistake 

 of letting a cover crop continue growth after the ground is in con- 

 dition to plow. While it will of course add more vegetable matter to 

 the soil to do so, there is danger of injury to the trees by drying out 

 the soil too much. However, weather conditions will largely control 

 this feature; if there is plenty of rain the crop may naturally be 

 allowed to grow longer before plowing under. (Del. Col. B. 61.) 



The amounts of seed per acre mentioned below are abundant 

 to give satisfaction, providing the soil is at least fairly good and the 

 weather fairly favorable. If the fruit grower wishes to err on the 

 right side he may sow more seed; with some crops this will add 

 materially to the expense of the crop, but with others it will not. 

 The amounts of seed per acre and crop or combination of crops which 

 are desirable to use are as follows: Rye, 1 to 1^2 bushels; cowhorn 

 turnips seed, 1 to 2 pounds; dwarf Essex rape, 8 to 10 pounds; red, 

 mammoth or crimson clover, 15 to 20 pounds; cowpea, 90 pounds; 

 soy bean, 90 pounds; hairy vetch, 40 to 50 pounds; alfalfa, 30 

 pounds; hairy vetch, 40 pounds and rye 30 pounds; hairy vetch, 20 

 pounds and cowpeas or soy beans 45 pounds; hairy vetch, 20 pounds 

 and turnips 12 ounces; hairy vetch, 20 pounds, crimson clover 8 



