44 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



we have found it so. To be a benefit to the orchard the crop 

 must require good cultivation, and must not spread out so as 

 to shade the trees or rob them of food; and it is very desir- 

 able, also, that it should make its greatest grovs^th at a dif- 

 ferent period from the trees. In order to be profitable it 

 must be a crop which the owner can use to advantage on the 

 farm or which he can sell for cash. As we keep no stock, 

 other than our teams, there is little that we can use except 

 hay and corn, and of course hay cannot be grown in an 

 orchard. We have not considered it advisable to go into 

 truck crops, and we are therefore restricted to general crops 

 that can be sold for cash. Those which we have found most 

 satisfactory under our conditions are : beans, soy beans, corn, 

 potatoes, cabbage, squash, strawberries. Even strawberries 

 we find objectionable in any but very young orchards because 

 they prevent cross-cultivation, and still more because they 

 require to be kept in the land two years. It is impossible to 

 keep the young trees in as good condition where the land can- 

 not be given a thorough preparation in the spring. 



Another question which has caused us no end of difficulty, 

 and which we have not yet solved to our entire satisfaction, 

 is the old, perennial question of cover crops. Many people 

 think this question was settled years ago. As a matter of 

 fact, it never was settled, and probably never will be except 

 as each man settles it for himself, and that temporarily. The 

 most important offices of a cover crop are the following, 

 arranged roughly in the order of their importance : — 



1. To add humus to the soil. 



2. To prevent washing of the soil. 



3. To check the growth of the tree. 



4. To add nitrogen to the soil. 



In addition to this, if the crop is to be used on an orchard 

 of any size, and if the owner is not a millionaire, the seed 

 must be reasonably cheap. 



It might seem like a relatively simple matter to grow a 

 good crop of some plant in the soil in the early autumn which 

 shall accomplish all of the things mentioned above, and not 

 be very costly, but in our case, at least, it has not proved so. 

 Our soil is relatively light, which probably makes it more 



