THE IDEAL COMPANION CROP 



67 



vided, of course, that the proper crops are chosen. This is espe- 

 cially true on general farms where there are other crops than 

 the orchard to compete for the time of men and teams. If the 

 potato field is in the orchard, both are cultivated together, and 

 the trees are not only well cultivated, but receive the benefit of the 

 fertilizer left over from the potato crop (Fig. 28). On the other 

 hand, if the potato field is in one place and the orchard is in 

 another, the potatoes frequently get the cultivation when labor 

 is scarce, while the cultivation of the orchard is either deferred 



FIQ. 29. Soybeans as a companion crop. This is one of the best crops for a young orchard, 

 enriching the land and usually giving profitable returns. 



to a more convenient time or omitted altogether, because the 

 farmer knows that he will get no crop if his potatoes are not 

 cultivated while his trees will do something even with very in- 

 different culture. 



The ideal companion crop would have the following char- 

 acteristics, and though the ideal does not exist we can frequently 

 come fairly close to it : 



1. The crop must be profitable, either because it can be sold 

 for cash or because it can be fed with profit to the stock on the 

 farm (Fig. 29). This point, of course, is imperative. The list 



