Summer Treatment of OrcKards 



ORCHARDISTS in the leading fruit 

 sections are adopting clean culti- 

 vation and cover crops in late 

 summer more commonly as the years go 

 by. There are a few fruit growers who 

 do not consider the benefits derived 

 from such system sufficient to cause 

 them to go to the extra labor and ex- 

 pense, and so prefer to leave the fruiting 

 land in grass. The experiences of many 

 of the most successful growers and the 

 results of experiments al colleges and 

 stations, however, have shown that in 

 most cases, for successive crops of good 

 fruit, it is advisable to practise clean 

 cultivation. 



most successful orchardists have been 

 obtained by Tmc Horticilturist. 



"My orchard," wrote Mr. F. G. 

 Stewart, of Homer, "is so very stony 

 that I cannot cultivate it as I would 

 wish. I keep it in s(xl, cut the crop, 

 let it lie on the land and feed it one year 

 with ashes, 50 to 60 bushels an acre, and 

 the next year with tankage 400 to 500 

 lbs. an acre. Prior to 1905 I had eight 

 successive crops. Ivast year I had but 

 very few. 



"If I could cultivate the orchard, I 

 should put in a cover crop of mammoth 

 clover. I intend to do this with my 

 plum and cherry orchards as soon as the 



The Work that Generally Results in Large Crops 



view of a quarter mile row of Gravenstein and King apples in Hillcrest Orchards, KentWUe, N.S., showing re- 

 versible extension disc harrow, sulky gang plow, and two low wagons with lOO-gallon hogsheads used for spraying. 



If cultivation is kept up until late in 

 the season, tree growth continues, and 

 the wood is not ripened when heavy 

 frosts come. The result is that many 

 trees are ruined. In recent years or- 

 chardists have adopted the planting of 

 cover crops to overcome this feature. 

 Many kinds can be used to advantage, 

 but it has been learned that the locality 

 and the climatic conditions regulate to 

 a certain extent the cover crop that will 

 give best results. 



The general benefits are numerous. 

 In most cases some of the leguminous 

 crops, such as clovers or vetches, are 

 used, because considerable nitrogen is 

 incorporated with the soil. In any case, 

 humus is added and the plant food rend- 

 ered more available. Rains and snows 

 are held until they have time to soak 

 into the ground ; and, in spring, the 

 evaporation through the leaves causes 

 the land to dry and be in fit condition 

 for cultivation earlier than in orchards 

 where no crop is grown. 



The experiences of some of Ontario's 



crop is picked. I have tried rape, but 

 although it makes plenty of humus, I 

 do not find it adds enough nitrogen. 

 Clover does both." 



"In the St. Lawrence valley, east of 

 Kingston, wrote Mr. Harold Jones, of 

 Maitland, "my experience has been a 

 clean cultivation during the summer, 

 with a cover crop sown as late as August 

 1 or 15, produces a late succulent growth 

 of green wood, not sufficiently ripened 

 to withstand our winter. Taking these 

 conditions into consideration, I should 

 advise that clean cultivation practised 

 up to and not later than July I, and then 

 sowing thickly with red clover, say at 

 the rate of 10 or 12 lbs. to the acre, 

 gives our trees every chance for rapid 

 and vigorous growth in the early summer, 

 as well as rapidly developed fruit. Then 

 a heavy seeding of clover has a tendency 

 to check growth sufficiently to have the 

 twigs well-ripened before winter sets in, 

 besides giving us a clean sod for the 

 fruit that falls. 



"In heavy, strong soils, where wood 



growth is very vigorous at the expense 

 of fruit buds, I have found it advisable 

 to let the orchard remain in clover sod 

 without cultiv'ation for one or even 

 two years. This treatment gives a very 

 noticeable increase in blossom buds. 



"Among the cover crops used gener- 

 ally throughout Ontario, the common 

 red clover is found the most desirable 

 for the St. Lawrence valley. Crimson 

 clover is not hardy and will very seldom 

 or never pass the winter alive. Soy 

 beans, or Soja beans, and vetches are 

 valuable in their fertilizing quaHties, but 

 are difficult to move among, and wet in 

 the mornings for the pickers. 



"The most serious losses from winter 

 kilhng during the past four years have 

 been in orchards under clean cultivation, 

 and the fewest losses in orchards in sod. 

 But, we must bear in mind the value of 

 our orchards under the several treat- 

 ments from a commercial standpoint, 

 and it is up to us, as fruit growers, to 

 bring our orchards into the highest state 

 of fertility and productiveness, keeping 

 in mind the importance of getting our 

 wood growth thoroughly ripened be- 

 fore winter sets in." 



PRIZE-WINNIXG FRUIT ON SOD 



That some orchardists produce excel- 

 lent fruit without cultivating is shown 

 by the record made by Mr. C. W. Chal- 

 land, of Marbourg. Last fall, at To- 

 ronto, he had seven entries and carried 

 away five first prizes. In 1904, three 

 first prizes were awarded for three en- 

 tries. Last fall his sales amounted to 

 S675, while scarcely another grower in 

 the neighborhood had saleable fruit. 



In a recent letter to The Horticul- 

 turist, Mr. Challand wrote: "The or- 

 chard has been in sod for 14 years, 

 pastured by sheep and divided into parts 

 in order to give fresh pasture. It is 

 eaten off much more evenly than when 

 the whole run is given at once. Last 

 spring I plowed the orchard because 

 so much manure had been added around 

 the trees that the grass grew so long 

 and so wiry that the sheep would not 

 eat it. After about two years I shall 

 seed it down again. During July, I in- 

 tend sowing rye, and it will be plowed 

 under next spring. The soil is clay 

 loam. 



"For the last eight years half the 

 trees each year had a dressing of barn- 

 vard manure at the rate of about one • 

 load to four trees, according to size of 

 trees, spread out nearly as far as the 

 branches reach. The last two years no 

 ashes have been used. During the four, 

 years previous about 1,200 bushels of 

 ashes were used at the rate of one to 

 two bushels per tree, according to size of 

 tree, scattered around about as far out 

 as the top reaches. 

 • '"In 1896 T purchased a sprayer and. 



