158 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



conditions, for that character of soil, and using large quanti- 

 ties of fertilizer as we do, that rather than have that ground 

 barren all through the winter, I would very much rather have 

 a crop of green rye growing on it. I have many times failed 

 to get a crop of crimson clover, so I cannot pin my faith 

 to that, but I do feel that rye has added greatly to the char- 

 acter of that soil. However, I wouldn't recommend it for 

 orchards. 



A Member: I would suggest if anybody tries rye, espe- 

 cially on light soil, that they plough it under when it is not 

 very high, not over a foot. I have tried that quite a little, 

 and if I were going to plough under rye in that way I would 

 certainly advocate a good thorough harrowing after plough- 

 ing. That is the experience we have had in our truck gardens. 



Mr. Sperry.: I wanted to say in reference to this cover 

 crop question that I should prefer to sow the ordinary red 

 clover, and I think that can be sowed along early in July, 

 or any time in July, and if the soil will grow it, you can get 

 a pretty good stand, and wood ashes will almost surely help 

 to bring it in, and if you get a stand of red clover, you 

 will get something this is of great value to the orchard. 



Mr. Cooke: I would like to tell you how I have kept 

 apples through the winter the last few seasons, ^^'hen it 

 comes picking time we go into the meadow and mow the 

 fresh meadow hay, and then spread it under the trees, three or 

 four inches thick ; that is to protect the apples that fall. 

 Now, you all know that the nicest specimens ripen first 

 in the top of the trees, and they all fall, and that gets rid 

 of the first picking. We did not have to pick but once, as 

 those that fell off struck that hay and were not bruised, 

 and if it rains they are not covered with dirt, and the inferior 

 specimens that drop are also clean and nice to pick up to 

 make cider of. When it comes picking time we get into 

 those trees and pick all the remaining apples. The nice apples 

 we pick and put into baskets and take them under a tree 

 that has a heavy foliage, where we build a bin that is thirty 

 feet long, and sometimes longer, and we put them into 

 that bin to the depth of three or four feet, and we leave them 

 there until it comes almost freezing weather. Sometimes we 



