100 The Principles of Fruit-growing 



has accumulated in winter and spring; it is capable of put- 

 ting the soil in fine mechanical condition, and this condi- 

 tion may be as important as fertility; it warms up the soil 

 and sets the plants quickly to work; it turns under the her- 

 bage when that herbage is soft and moist and when there 

 is moisture in the soil, so that the herbage soon breaks 

 down and decays. All catch-crops should be plowed under 

 as soon as the ground is dry enough in the spring, for these 

 crops soon take the water from the soil and cause it to bake 

 and cement together, and the longer they remain the more 

 difficult it is to cause them to rot when turned under. 

 Hard and woody herbage, plowed under late in the season, 

 may remain as a foreign body in the soil all summer, break- 

 ing the connection between the upper and lower soil, and 

 thereby preventing the upward movement of the water 

 and causing the top-soil to dry out completely. The chief 

 value of crimson clover, rye, or other catch-crop in the 

 orchard lies in its fall growth and its protection of the soil 

 in winter, not in its growth in late spring. 



Few persons are aware that the season of growth in 

 most woody plants in cold climates extends scarcely to 

 midsummer. This is no doubt one reason why they are 

 able to endure the winter. Plants that cease growing 

 early, and mature their wood well, are often said to be 

 determinate in their growth, while those of opposite habit 

 are said to be indeterminate. It is, of course, apparent 

 that plants of indeterminate growth are not hardy; as a 

 rule most fruit trees are determinate. 



3. Tillage should usually be stopped in late summer or 

 very early autumn. The tree has completed its growth. It 

 must now ripen and prepare for winter. It can spare some 

 of the moisture that comes with the fall rains. We may, 

 therefore, sow some catch- or cover-crop. 



