58 THE AMERICAN APPLE ORCHARD 



thoroughly dry. The amount of sand in the soil will 

 largely determine this point, which, since it is all a 

 matter of local experience and of judgment, cannot be 

 more accurately specified in print. 



When we speak of deep plowing in an orchard after 

 the planting of the trees we call up another common 

 objection to this system of cultivation. It is some- 

 times said that deep plowing is impossible or imprac- 

 ticable in an orchard because it cuts off the roots of 

 the trees. It is true that if one attempts to send down 

 the plow to a depth of twelve or even eight inches in 

 an orchard which has never been cultivated, he will 

 meet with some difficulties in the shape of large roots. 

 The cutting of these roots will entail a large amount of 

 hard work and may weaken the trees. On the other 

 hand it may not hurt the trees. It is altogether unsafe 

 to assume that any real damage is done even in cases 

 where large roots are broken in plowing. 



But the objection fades away utterly in the case of 

 orchards which are deeply plowed from the beginning. 

 Under this treatment large roots are never formed 

 near the surface. They all grow below the reach of 

 the customary plowing. All possible damage of this 

 sort is thereby prevented, and the tree is better for 

 being deep rooted. 



After the deep, early spring plowing the ground 

 should be frequently and thoroughly stirred on the 

 surface. Frequent surface cultivation saves moisture 

 and keeps the weeds from getting a start. This scari- 

 fication of the surface should be repeated once a week, 

 or, in case of insufficient rainfall, twice a week. It is 

 a good plan also to break up the surface after every 

 rain or heavy shower just as soon as the cultivator or 

 the harrow can be safely put on the ground. 



