90 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD 



mammoth clover and crimson clover. One or the 

 other of these better crops can usually be grown in 

 any soil. Alfalfa is sown sometimes as a cover crop, 

 but is not to be recommended for this purpose. 



5. The vetches are in some respects the best of all 

 cover crops. They form a close solid mass of herb- 

 age which kills out weeds and holds the soil. The 

 winter vetch lives through the hardest winters and 

 makes a quick growth in the spring. The vetches 

 accumulate great quantities of nitrogen under favor- 

 able conditions. A great drawback with these crops 

 is the high price of seeds, especially in the case of 

 winter vetch, which costs from $7 to $8 a bushel and 



COVER CROPS OF WINTER VETCH 



can then seldom be obtained pure. Aside from the 

 difficulty of securing seed, however, the vetch is to 

 be highly recommended as a cover crop in peach 

 orchards. 



6. Buckwheat has already been mentioned as one 

 of the best of the non-leguminous cover crops, 



