84 ORCHARD CULTURE 



otherwise stir it, as early in the spring as the soil is in good 

 condition; then to cultivate it frequently up to about July 1, 

 when the orchard is sown to some cover crop which is allowed to 

 remain on the land until the following spring. This seems to be 

 a simple program and if the proper implements are available to 

 work with, and attention is given to the details, there is usually 

 little difficulty in carrying it out. Yet there are several things 

 that it is very desirable to look after carefully. To begin with, 

 the land ought to be plowed, and cultivation ought to be gotten 

 under way, just as early as possible in the spring. In fact, there 

 are some men who advocate and practise very late fall plowing 

 of the orchard. 



Fall Plowing. There are several good arguments in support 

 of this practice. Here are some which have considerable weight. 



1. Where land has been plowed in the autumn it can bo 

 worked earlier in the spring, not only because the operation of 

 plowing is out of the way but because plowed land will dry out 

 more quickly. It is always desirable to get the soil in good 

 condition and to push the trees as early in the season as possible. 

 Fall plowing is particularly desirable on rather heavy soils, be- 

 cause it is so late in the spring before they are in proper condition 

 to be plowed. 



2. It frequently, in fact usually, happens that there is less 

 work for the teams in the autumn than in the spring. Often 

 it is even somewhat difficult on an orchard farm to find enough 

 team work in the autumn, and if even a part of the orchards can 

 be plowed it keeps the teams busy and gives the comfortable 

 assurance that at least much work will be out of the way when 

 the spring rush comes on. To the man who has done his orchard 

 work in an office, this may not seem to be a strong argument, but 

 any one who really gets out and does the work, or who even 

 " bosses the job,' 7 will find that he frequently has to modify 

 his plans and theories to suit the case in hand. In particular he 

 will find that the problem of keeping his teams constantly at work 

 is by no means an easy one to solve. Too often it is solved 

 by allowing the teams to stand in the barn, which usually means 

 that the owner has not realized that there is any problem. 



