Cover Crops vs. Tillage. 187 



and fitted well each spring, and then sown, having 

 received no subsequent tillage. The crops were all 

 plowed under the following spring. The following 

 are the crops : 



1890. Mixed beans. Sowed June 16. 



1891. Field peas. Sowed June 24. 



1892. Vetch. Sowed June 16. 



1893. Cow peas. Sowed June 19. 



1894. Field peas. Sowed June 14. 



Here, then, is a chance to compare the effects 

 of tillage with humus in a season of almost unpre- 

 cedented drought. Upon September 1, 1894, the green 

 manured strip was much the driest portion of the 

 orchard. The tree growth in this portion was much 

 less vigorous, and the leaves were perceptibly lighter 

 colored, than on the adjacent plots. Even the unfer- 

 tilized but well tilled tract showed a better foliage. 

 In this green manure portion, leaves on peach trees 

 were then beginning to yellow and fall from the effects 

 of drought, whilst the same rows, when they struck 

 the other plots, showed perfect foliage. In apricots 

 the effects were also marked. Pears and plums also 

 showed the differences. In the cultivated portions one 

 could easily stir up loose earth with the toe of his 

 boot, while in the green manured part one had to 

 dig from six to ten inches in a hard soil before he 

 could find visible moisture. Careful tests showed the 

 same fact. Samples of soil were taken to the depth 

 of one foot on September 1, by means of a soil 

 sampler, eight samples being lifted from representa- 

 tive parts of both the tilled and untilled areas. 



