PLANTING CROPS WITH TREES. 



The planting of field crops between rows of young trees on the 

 plains is unwise ; the trees need all the available moisture. Corn is 

 especially harmful, because the roots spread both down and out 

 from 5 to 8 feet, and take much more soil moisture than the young 

 trees. If any crop is planted it should be a short-lived one of the 

 garden kind, whose roots do not spread far and are soon gone. 



TOOLS METHODS OF CULTIVATION. 



The plow has no place among trees, other than to prepare the 

 ground for planting. The plantation is often neglected until the 

 weeds have formed a dense growth 3 or 4 feet high, and then the 

 ground between the rows is plowed. The plow leaves the ground 

 rough, a condition which greatly increases the loss of soil moisture 

 through evaporation. Dead furrows are formed between the rows, or 

 the earth is thrown away from the bases of the trees and many roots 

 are cut, which does great injury to the trees. 



The best implements for the cultivation of the ground are the pul- 

 verizing harrow, the disk harrow, the dagger-tooth harrow, and the 

 five-tooth cultivator. The pulverizing harrow is an excellent tool for 

 shallow tillage, and, when used frequently enough, is all that is neces- 

 sary. Where the weeds are large an ordinary cultivator may be put 

 in or a shallow disking given, but to give the best surface conditions 

 the disk should be set quite slanting or be followed by a harrow. A 

 single section of a dagger-tooth harrow drawn by one horse may be 

 used advantageously between the rows of trees. The five-tooth, one- 

 * horse cultivator requires the least space of any of the tools men- 

 tioned, and can be used when the rows are close together or after the 

 trees have grown so as to fill most of the space between the rows. 



Care should always be taken that the stems of the trees are not in- 

 jured in any way. There should be no projecting parts about the 

 cultivator or the harness, but if such parts are unavoidable they 

 should be wrapped with pieces of old sacks. 



GRAZING FIRE. 



Grazing animals should be rigorously excluded from all tree plan- 

 tations. Even if the trees are too large to be broken off by the stock, 

 every branch within reach will be browsed, and the desirable forest 

 conditions of shade, undergrowth, and litter will be destroyed. In a 

 well-established grove stock may do little harm, but until the crowns 

 of the trees are entirely out of reach cattle should not be admitted. 

 Even then injury may result from the trampling of the soil. A 

 heavy soil becomes packed so that it is nearly impervious to water, 

 while a sandy one is worn and blown away, leaving the roots exposed. 



[Cir. 54] 



