APPLES 



241 



by premature fall frosts or suffer need- 

 lessly from cold winter weather. 



Bearing apple trees, on the other hand, 

 will need cultivation in most cases up to 

 the time the fruit is picked, since the 

 trees draw ver.v heavily upon the soil as 

 the fruit is maturing. The time for ceas- 

 ing cultivation with bearing trees will be 

 determined by the .general condition of 

 the tree and fruit. Cultivation influences 

 the color and size and often the form of 

 the fruit, the amount of juice, and has a 

 marked influence on the percentage of 

 drop of the fruit. 



C. I. Lewis 



CultiTation from a IVashinston View 

 Point 



Sod Mulch — The grass, clover, weed or 

 alfalfa sod mulch system is a relic of 

 primitive horticulture handed down to us 

 like many other relics, to be taken as it 

 is without investigation. 



It is an outgrowth of neglect rather 

 than a development of thought, and comes 

 through such reasoning as this: If Ore- 

 gon fir and Washington pine have grown 

 to such size on these lands without cul- 

 ture, why shouldn't fruit trees do the 

 same? The difference is that nature takes 

 hundreds of years and millions of trees 

 to produce a few big trees, while man 

 takes a few years and a handful of small 

 switches to develop an orchard. We can- 

 not afford to pattern after nature in this 

 matter, but must assist her by conserving 

 moisture, making plant food available 

 and removing the offenders, whether they 

 be weeds or other trees. 



The grass mulch system has merits for 

 certain conditions, and while it is occa- 

 sionally good, is a much abused practice. 

 This abuse in our state shows most 

 stron,ely on the west side of the Cascades, 

 but it is not wholly lacking on the east. 

 Under various conditions the grass mulch 

 system takes on varied modifications. 



Some growers permit weeds and grass 

 to grow at will in the orchard all sum- 

 mer long, only to be mashed down in 

 spring with harrow, light disc and clod 

 masher. The only remarkable feature 

 about these orchards is that some of them 

 are giving fair returns. The probable 



reason for the returns is that available 

 plant food and moisture are only sec- 

 ondary considerations in these soils. On 

 other soils the method would be an ab- 

 solute failure. 



Another group of growers permit this 

 mulch to grow until mid-summer, when 

 it is mowed down and placed around the 

 trees to act as a mulch, in the true sense, 

 to conserve moisture, ameliorate the soil 

 and add plant food. The grass mulch 

 system as practiced in this manner on 

 rich, deep, moist soil will prove a suc- 

 cess in orchard work, provided the trees 

 are fairly well established before the sys- 

 tem is put into operation. Remember 

 again, however, that the moisture prob- 

 lem is taken care of by plenty of rain 

 or frequent irrigation. 



A third group of growers cut the mulch 

 and use it for hay or. worse still, pasture 

 the orchard without practicing fertilizer 

 returns. A friend recently sold from one 

 acre of ground $1,200 worth of apples and 

 four tons of alfalfa hay. In addition he 

 pastured a cow and 50 chickens for three 

 months on the same acre. 



flover Versus .\lfalfa Mulch 



Considerable discussion has arisen 

 lately relative to the comparative merits 

 arid demerits of the two plants, alfalfa 

 and clover, which are most commonly 

 used as grass mulch plants in the West. 

 Each has a strong following amongst our 

 best fruitgrowers, and consequently must 

 have merits of note under favorable con- 

 ditions. 



Those championing clover attribute the 

 following advantages to its growth: 



1. Being a comparatively shallow 

 rooted plant, its roots do not feed in the 

 same plane as the roots of bearing trees. 



2. It adds more fiber and plant food 

 to the first 18 inches of the soil. 



3. It is an easy plant, as compared 

 with alfalfa, to destroy when the time 

 comes to remove the mulch. 



Those championing the use of alfalfa 

 contend that it is best because it has the 

 following characteristics: 



1. Being a naturally deep-rooted plant 

 it goes below the apple root plane. 



2. While it adds a small amount of 

 fiber, its roots work deep into the soil 



