112 COVER CROPS 



clover because the former does not always live over winter, while 

 the latter does. It is said that while there may be a fine growth 

 of the crimson clover when winter comes on, yet by spring 

 (in cold climates) it has been killed, and has so dried up and 

 dwindled away that there is little left to plow under. As a 

 matter of fact, this does not in the least affect its value as a 

 humus producer. There will be just as much humus added to 

 the soil in the dried remains of the crop as there would have been 

 in succulent tissues before they were killed. The only loss has 

 been the water which has dried out of the stalks. 



A slightly different phase of the same prejudice is seen in 

 some orchardists' opinions of crops which do live over winter. 

 Many men will insist on delaying plowing in the spring until 

 a new growth can be produced, no^matter how rank the growth 

 may have been in the autumn, because they say that unless they 

 do " there is so little to plow under." It sometimes does look 

 small in the spring, but it will make just as much humus as it 

 would have in the autumn. 



While under certain conditions there may be no objection to 

 allowing some growth in the spring; while, in fact, it may be a 

 distinct advantage by producing extra humus and sometimes by 

 drying out the soil ; yet there is always great danger that it will 

 be allowed to stand too long. On heavy soils this objection is 

 particularly strong, for a big growth of the crop will dry out the 

 soil very rapidly and, if the weather happens to turn dry at just 

 the right time, the soil may easily become too dry and plow up in 

 big lumps that are very difficult to break up. On the whole a 

 crop which makes a big growth in the autumn but does not live 

 over winter is to be preferred because it avoids this danger. 



Plants to Use. A great many different plants are used as 

 cover crops in the orchard, depending on the locality, the type of 

 soil, the number of acres to be covered, the owner's pocketbook 

 and a number of other considerations. The following table, 

 however, includes the most common ones. It gives also the usual 

 rate per acre, the average price (though this varies greatly in 

 different localities and in different years) and the cost of seed- 

 ing an acre. 



