226 



RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS 



perseverance almost aii}^ orchard may be plowed. It is sometimes 

 recommended to use a disc harrow first in case the orchard has 

 long been in sod and the roots are close to the surface, but this 

 is entirely unnecessary. Some large roots will have to be cut, 

 a great many in fact, and they will keep working out of the 

 ground all through the first season, but the tops have also been 

 severely pruned and some loss of roots will do no harm. It is a 

 good plan to do this first plowing away from the trees to facilitate 

 getting out the sod from about their trunks. This will require 



Fig. 1(i5. — An oi(i, neglected orchard when renovation was begun. The foliage is thin 

 and poor and the trees generally unthrifty. 



some work with the mattock or grub-hoe after the plowing is 

 done, but it is worth while in order to make a thorough job. 



After the plowing is done the land should be put in the best 

 condition possible. Usually a disc harrow is a good implement 

 to use after the plow and it ought to be run the same way the 

 land was plowed to avoid turning up the sod. The disc harrow 

 may be followed by anything else in the harrow line that is 

 available. The orchard should be cultivated up to about July 

 10 and then sown to some cover crop. 



5. Cover Crops. — There are no important special directions 

 for cover crops in a renovated orchard unless it be to use buck- 



