118 The Principles of Fruit-growing 



The golden scale of cover-crops for orchards begins 

 with rye and ends with crimson clover. Lands that are 

 very sandy and leachy, as well as those that are hard and 

 lumpy, are usually not adapted to the growth of crimson 

 clover, especially in the North. Such lands must be grad- 

 ually ameliorated by the use of other plants, and, as a rule, 

 the best plant to begin with is rye. 



Rye thrives on a great variety of soils, it demands 

 little preparation of the land, the seeds are large and 

 germinate at a low temperature, it grows early and 

 strongly in spring, it may be sown late in the season after 

 tilled crops are removed, and it is exceedingly hardy. 

 Rye may be sown at the very moment of the freezing of 

 the land, and it will sometimes germinate the following 

 spring. It is ordinarily best, however, to sow it about 

 a month or six weeks (or even two months) before the 

 land is expected to freeze; and for the purpose of securing 

 cover, not less than one and one-half bushels should 

 be sown to the acre when orchards are young. When the 

 trees have begun to shade the ground, a less quantity may 

 suffice. 



Indian corn; is sometimes used to begin the amelio- 

 ration of intractable lands, sown broadcast very thickly, 

 six weeks or two months before killing frost. Although it 

 does not withstand the winter, it nevertheless affords an 

 excellent cover and supplies a large quantity of herbage. 



Buckwheat may be used for the same purpose, sown 

 so late in the season that it will reach its full height but 

 will not go to seed. There is danger, however, of using 

 buckwheat too much; only an occasional crop of it should 

 be sown and on orchards growing on the hard types of 

 land. 



Turnips and rape are also to be recommended in certain 



