CHAPTER V 

 CROPPING THE ORCHARD 



ONE of the questions which comes home very forcibly to the 

 man who attempts to develop an orchard of any size is that of 

 growing companion crops in the orchard while it is young. Shall 

 this be done and if so what crops shall be used? The idea of 

 such a crop is to help defray the cost of the orchard, and con- 

 sequently it must either be a crop, such as mangels or turnips, 



FIG. 28. Late potatoes in a young peach orchard. An excellent crop when rightly managed 



which can be used profitably by the owner on the farm, or else 

 it must be a crop such as beans or soybeans, which can be dis- 

 posed of for cash. The general farmer who keeps stock has, 

 therefore, a distinct advantage over the orchard specialist in 

 the choice of these companion crops, because a number of the 

 best of them are such as will work in very nicely with the plans 

 for feeding stock or keeping dairy cows. 



For several years, say four or five as a rule, it is greatly to 

 the advantage of the young trees if the orchard is cropped, pro- 

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