THE CULTIVATION AND CARE OF ORCHARDS. 



Sir, — Now that affiliated societies are 

 being organized in almost every town 

 and village on the St. Lawrence, a few 

 remarks and suggestions on the care of 

 orchards for Eastern and Northern 

 Ontario might be of interest to some. I 

 speak more particularly of the apple 

 orchard, as there is very little other fruit 

 grown in this section. There is one 

 thought ever present with the careful 

 orchardist, what are we to do to get our 

 trees in the best possible condition to 

 withstand a temperature of from 25 to 

 30 below zero, for we all look for and 

 rather expect such a temperature some- 

 time during January or February, which 

 may last from a few hours to several 

 days. 



Now such temperatures are very 

 severe on root-cell, branch and fruit 

 bud. First let us take into considera- 

 tion the root. If we can encourage 

 deep rooting, and thereby partly getting 

 below the frost line, we may largely 

 overcome the difficulty. Now, how are 

 we to do this? First, what are the 

 functions and duties of the root as 

 regards the growing and life of a tree ? 

 Briefly stated, the duty of the roots are 

 to gather certain elements in the soil, 

 such as potash, phosphoric acid, intro- 

 gen, etc., held in solution by the water 

 of the soil, which water or solution is 

 carried in the form of sap to the leaves 

 of the tree, where they are combined 

 with carbon, which the leaves absorb 

 from the carbonic acid gas present in 

 the air and then returns through the 

 tree, forming new wood, roots and buds. 

 Now to get the food elements suluble, 

 we must get the air into the soil to 

 cause nitrification, and how is this most 

 thoroughly done? 



First by underdraining then by care- 

 ful and frequent tilling of the surface. 

 By deep draining we cause nitrification 

 to a greater depth and a warming up of 

 the soil to a corrresponding depth and 

 the roots will follow. Now by cultivat- 

 ing the surface frequently, keeping it 

 soft and mellow, we cause more rapid 

 nitrification near the surface, and when 

 the rains come instead of running off 



the land it will be absorbed by it like a 

 sponge taking up the food elements that 

 have been freed by the air near the 

 surface and carrying them in solution to 

 the roots below. 



If you take a sponge and fill it full of 

 water, then place it on a piece of wire 

 netting, and cover over thoroughly with 

 thick cloths to prevent evaporation you 

 will find it as damp at the end of a 

 week or two as it would be when freshly 

 squeezed out from the bath. Only a 

 certain quantity, the surplus has drained 

 away. 



Under the above conditions we cause 

 a rapid and succulent wood growth 

 which, however, must be checked early 

 enough in the season to allow for it to 

 ripen. The most approved method and 

 the one that has given me most satisfac- 

 tion is to cease cultivation about July 

 20 to August 1 st, and to sow at that 

 time clover seed at the rate of about 

 20 lbs to the acre, which, besides being 

 a valuable fertilizer, serves to draw the 

 moisture of the soil, thereby checking 

 the wood growth of the tree, and thus 

 giving it a chance to ripen. A good 

 crop of weeds is better than no crop at 

 all, and here is a point that is of the 

 utmost importance in this section. We 

 must have a cover crop to catch the 

 first snow and ice and protect the 

 ground from the severe frosts that are apt 

 to come before we have sufficient snow 

 on exposed surfaces to keep the ground 

 from freezing to a considerable depth. 



In this section I cannot recommend 

 the practice of the orchardists in South- 

 ern Ontario of plowing the orchards 

 late in the fall, and leaving the exposed 

 surface to the action of the frost ; it has 

 been followed by bad results here fre- 

 quently. 



To summarize — underdrain thorough- 

 ly, cultivate frequently until Aug. 1st. 

 Then grow a cover crop of clover, rye, 

 oats or buckwheat, etc., and allow it to 

 lay on the surface through the winter, 

 commencing cultivation again early in 

 April or as soon as the ground can be 

 worked. Harold Janes. 



Maitland, Ont. 



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