Study of Soil and Climate. 281 



dition. If the land is soddy or infested with bad 

 weeds, however, a regular plowing may be necessary. 

 A handy plow for such plantations is one of the 

 type shown in Fig. 16, page 158, managed by a 

 single horse. The management of the land in 

 small -fruit plantations does not differ in principle 

 from the management of orchard lands, and the 

 tools are of the same general kind, except smaller 

 and generally adapted to a single horse. If the 

 rows are far enough apart, however as they usually 

 are in blackberries and black raspberries it may 

 be necessary in hard lands to hitch two horses to 

 such a tool as the spring -tooth cultivator. 



It is scarcely necessary to repeat that it is essen- 

 tial to give the fruit plantation just as good tillage 

 as the corn receives, if equally good results are 

 desired. Wholly aside from the direct benefits of 

 tillage (which have already been explained), the 

 operation is necessary in order to supply the enor- 

 mous quantities of moisture which are exhaled from 

 the leaves of the plants. Professor Burrill, of the 

 University of Illinois, estimates* that a good -sized 

 apple tree, having 25,000 square feet of evaporating 

 surface, which is not a large estimate, will give off 

 31,200 ounces of water per day in the hot season, 

 or say 250 gallons. 



It is generally a matter of a few years to thor- 

 oughly learn one's soil and climate, after moving 

 onto a new farm. The farmer has a local and per- 



* Trans. 111. Hort. So.'. 



