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CHAPTER VII. 



COVER CROPS. 



Crops of annual plants, such as cereals and legumes, 

 are often grown in tlie plantation, and are usually 

 designated as cover crops. Cover crops are gener- 

 ally grown for shelter or for green manure, or for 

 both. If situated on sandy land the soil of a newly 

 planted or young orchard is liable to be blown about 

 by the wind, especially ' after it has been freshly 

 ploughed or cultivated, as the young plants have 

 insufficient foliage to protect the ground from the 

 full force of the wind. During a gale the sand is 

 often blown with considerable force against the 

 stems and foliage of the trees to their great injury. 



Along the Murray Valley the weather is usually 

 fairly calm during the summer and autumn months, 

 but during September and October the equinoxial 

 gales often blow with great force and persistence. 

 During these storms, on newly -ploughed and freshly- 

 planted orchards situated on sandy land, the damage 

 done is sometimes severe the drifting sand barking 

 the trees, destroying their foliage, and even covering 

 the irrigation channels with sand. To avoid losses 

 from sand- drift in newly -planted orchards it is neces- 

 sary that the soil should be held together by a mass 

 of plant growth. This can be accomplished by 

 sowing strips of cereals or legumes in the rows the 

 way it is intended to water. If the trees are planted 

 20 feet apart a 9 feet strip will be sufficient for the 

 first season, and a 6 feet strip for the second and third 

 years. In every case the cover crops should be 

 sown during the autumn or early winter months, so 

 that the crop is of some considerable height by 

 September, when the windy weather begins. 



