112 COVER CROPS 



gives the best results on soil washing and some other things. 

 One has to choose therefore between this character and the others. 

 In climates where the winters are severe, and where snow is likely 

 to blow oil' from the orchard, this point of holding it as a pro- 

 tection may be the all-important one and the orchardists may 

 have to select an upright crop like soybeans or buckwheat or 

 even use a mixture with corn or some other heavy plant in it, 

 regardless of all other considerations. 



Protects Fallen Fruit. — The cover crop serves to protect the 

 fruit which drops. This is not usually considered very important 

 and can often be disregarded, but with fruit such as Yellow 

 Transparent and Red Astrachan apples, which ripen irregularly 

 and have to be disposed of quickly in any case, the drops are 

 sometimes worth about as much as the hand picked fruit. 



Prevents ^Yinter Injury of Roots. — It prevents the freezing 

 and thawing of the soil and consequent injury to the roots during 

 some winters. Any one who is not familiar with this effect will 

 be surprised at the difference between a block of the orchard 

 with a good cover crop on it, such as clover or vetch, and one with 

 no crop or with a poor one. The well covered block will stay 

 frozen through a long rain or speU of mild weather while the 

 bare land freezes and thaws with every change in the temperature. 



In a few cases there may be other purposes served by the 

 cover crop, but the above constitute the most important ones. 



Plowing Under Cover Crops. — A point which is frequently 

 misunderstood and w'hich should be considered, is the importance 

 of the crop living over winter. There is often a prejudice, for 

 example, against crimson clover and in favor of common red 

 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. 



