246 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Fig. 



Discers at Work in Young Orchard. 



arranged that they may be made to 

 project at a considerable distance under 

 the trees. This enables the orchardist, 

 even where there are overhanging 

 branches reaching nearly to the ground. 

 to cultivate all the soil. 



Tools for Low-headed Trees — We advo- 

 cate low heading. We do it with the 

 knowledge that it is more difficult to cul- 

 tivate in an orchard of this kind than 

 where the head of the tree is three or 

 four feet from the ground, but we know 

 furthermore that low heading is better 



Extension Disc. Convenient for 

 tivating Under Low Trees. 



for the tree and makes it easier to pick 

 the fruit, prune and spray, also that the 

 fruit bruises less in falling, and we ad- 

 vocate it notwithstanding the difficulties 

 in cultivation, knowing that machinery 

 can be so built and arranged as to make 

 cultivation practicable. 



Gr-^nville Lowther 



COVER CBOPS 



There has been a great deal of discus- 

 sion on the question of growing cover 

 crops in orchards. I confess that tor the 

 sake of neatness, and to meet our ideal 

 of beauty in the orchard, I like clean 

 cultivation. The main question, however, 

 is. "Does it produce better fruit, and does 

 it in general improve the soil, thereby 

 bringing better results, than does the use 

 of some kind of cover crop?" For cover 

 crop we generally use some leguminous 

 plant. In some states blue grass, or what 

 is called orchard grass, is used as a cover 

 crop. Sometimes buckwheat or timothy is 



