APPLE GROWING IN THE ANNAPOLIS VALLEY, NOVA SCOTIA. 



and each year to grow less and less 

 giving more room to the extending roots 

 of the trees. Among the best grow- 

 ers this cultivation is continued each 

 year even after the orchard has grown 

 old in the service, the cultivation be- 

 ginning as early as possible in the 

 spring and continuing till the latter part 

 of July, when usually some cover crop 

 is sown. Buckwheat is the one most 



up earlier in the spring, which is an im- 

 portant consideration in a climate where 

 the season is so short as in Nova Scotia. 

 On the other hand spring plowing gives 

 much less danger of winter killing 

 through the roots being exposed to the 

 frost, and if the orchard is sown to a 

 cover-crop all the leaves are retained on 

 the land as well as the snows of winter. 

 Spraying has become a regular part of 



Fig. 1701. — Picking Apples and Sorting in the Orchard. 



used though clovers are coming into 

 favor. In the matter of plowing of 

 orchards growers are divided in opin- 

 ion, some favoring fall plowing, while 

 others prefer to wait until spring. 

 There are unquestionably advantages to 

 either method. Fall plowing covers in 

 the decaying fruit and leaves, thus lessen- 

 ing the danger of infection from such 

 sources and it causes the land to warm 



the season's work in most orchards and 

 though there are still those who are 

 skeptical as to its value, it is every year 

 becoming more general. Most growers 

 spray from three to five times using 

 Bordeaux mixture and Paris green, and a 

 few have tried winter spraying. Another 

 practice which is becoming more pop- 

 ular each year is the use of a solution 

 of potash applied to the trees either as 



475 



