24 The Fruit-Growers Guide-Book 



crop that must be cultivated, such as potatoes, corn, sugar 

 beets or cotton, and follow this the second year with a le- 

 guminous crop, such as cowpeas, soja beans or crimson 

 clover. The cultivation necessary for such a crop as pota- 

 toes will keep the soil so continually disturbed during the 

 first summer that many of the roots will be dragged out 

 and few of them will have a chance to grow. The heavy 

 growth made the next season by the leguminous crop will 

 so shade the soil that any sprouts that appear will be 

 smothered out, so that they can make but little if any 

 growth. This crop of legumes should not be cut for hay, 

 but turned under, where their fiber will become humus. 

 Most soils are deficient in humus, and especially in nitro- 

 gen so that a two-fold purpose can be obtained by growing 

 and plowing under a leguminous crop. 



Land which has been under cultivation a long time will 

 be materially helped by having a crop of green manure 

 plowed under, as old fields generally have the humus sup- 

 ply so worn out as to be badly impoverished, and not in a 

 fit condition for trees to do their best. A young orchard 

 should make a strong and vigorous growth during the first 

 few years so as to build up a large framework for fruit 

 production, and this framework cannot be obtained on 

 weak soil. The soil in an old pasture is generally excel- 

 lent for an orchard, as it will contain a larger supply of 

 humus and nitrogenous food materials than any other 

 ordinary fields. 



In preparing the ground for an orchard it should be 

 plowed as deep as possible, so as to loosen up the soil and 

 make it possible for the tree roots to penetrate into the 

 lower soil. Shallow rooted trees do not live long, and are 

 easily influenced by dry weather. It is best to do, every- 

 thing to make the tree roots go deep into the soil, as they 

 will thus have a better anchorage, and be nearer a more 

 constant source of water than when the roots are allowed 

 to run close to the surface. The land should be plowed 

 in the fall and not less than six weeks before planting time 

 if a very heavy crop is to be turned under. This is to give 

 time for the crop to decay before the trees are planted. 

 When a heavy crop is turned under it is best in most cases 



