PROPERTY mnAur 



N. C. Siah O:'!,., 

 the case of plantations composed entirely 

 of bush-trained trees on dwarfing stocks, 

 in which horse cultivation is seldom pos- 

 sible once the trees meet overhead. 



Methods of Economy. 

 The main object of this article is to 

 suggest methods of economising in land 

 cultivation, the need for which is realized 

 by most growers. Wages are not likely to 

 fall to pre-war standards, though prices 

 of fruit may do so. Growers will there- 

 fore be wise to adopt evei-y possible labour- 

 saving device. It appears to the writer 

 that economy must be found under one or 

 other of the following heads : — 



(1) Ploughing. 



(2) Cover crops. 



(3) Grass orchards. 



(4) The sod and mulch system. 



Ploughing in Orchards. 

 It is difficult to keep an orchard in good 

 order by the use of the horse cultivator 

 alone, because, as already mentioned, the 

 land sometimes gets trampled down hard. 

 Moreover, it is desirable to turn in 

 manure. The obvious alternative to 

 digging to overcome these difficulties is 

 ploughing, and a start has already been 

 made in this direction. With the ordinary 

 plough it is impossible to work close up 

 to the stems of the trees, because the over- 

 hanging branches get in the way of the 

 horses. There are, however, already on 

 the market at least two ploughs specially 

 designed for this purpose. I am using one 

 of them and am very well pleased with the 

 result. The economy over digging is 

 enormous, weeds are dealt with more 

 effectually, and I think there is less root 

 injury. The special feature of this plough 

 is a simple adjustment of head and handles 

 which enables them to be set at an angle 

 to the beam. This allows the horses and 

 man to walk outside the spread of the 

 branches whilst joloughing right under the 

 trees. The horses (harnessed in line if 

 two are used) are not attached to the 

 head, but by a single chain to a staple 

 on the beam of the plough near the breast. 

 The adjustable head merely guides th(> 

 chain. In autumn the plough is used so 

 as to turn the furrow-slices towards the 

 stems of the trees, so that an open furrow 

 is left down the centre of the alley between 



24 



the rows. In spring it can be made to 

 plough the land back towards the centre 

 and away from the trees, but I think that 

 cultivating and hand hoeing will do this 

 sufficiently, obviating the need for a 

 second ploughing. It is possible to plough 

 where the space between rows of trees and 

 bushes is only 6ft., but it does much better 

 work after the bushes have been grubbed 

 and there is a space of 12ft. or more 

 between the rows of trees. A wide, very 

 shallow furrow-slice can then be turned, 

 and the land is not left very far out of 

 the flat. 



It will be worth while, I think, to plant 

 orchards with a view to ploughing and 

 horse cultivation. If the trees are half- 

 standards or full standards no difficulty 

 will be experienced. If bush-trained trees 

 are favoured, they should always have a 

 leg or stem not less than 18in., be given 

 plenty of space between the rows, and 

 pruned so that no low branches extend 

 into the alleys. If no bush fruits were 

 planted between the trees, ploughing could 

 be done from the start, iDut I doubt if it 

 would pay to omit these. They give a 

 good return whilst the trees are growing 

 to fruiting age — good enough to justify 

 digging for a few years. The horse cul- 

 tivator, and possibly the plough, may work 

 between the bushes whilst they are young ; 

 and it is only when they grow big that 

 digging must be adopted. Then, when the 

 bushes have been grubbed and the per- 

 manent trees are in bearing, the plough 

 can be put to its best use. 



We still need cultivators with exten- 

 sions to follow the plough in working under 

 the trees. It is to be hoped, also, that 

 the near future will bring forth a very low 

 cractor for use in orchards. The diffi- 

 culty with horses is their height. 



Cover Crops. 



In America and some, at any rate, of our 

 Colonies, it is the custom to grow cover 

 crops in orchards for the purpose of 

 ploughing them in. The land is thoroughly 

 cultivated during the early summer 

 months, and is sown with a cover crop in 

 late summer or early autumn. The green 

 crop is ploughed under in spring, as soon 

 as the land is di\y enough. It is claimed 

 for this svstem that the orchards thrive 



