Preparation of Land for Planting 33 



before planting, and if this is thoroughly done, less diffi- 

 culty will be experienced in the first watering. In cold, 

 backward springs, young orchards have been seriously 

 injured by a flooding of the surface in an attempt to water 

 newly plowed land without first working it down. While 

 young orchards may be started well on spring-plowed 

 land, most men of experience will agree that the earlier 

 the plowing can be done the better. 



The land selected for the new orchard, whether raw, 

 or that which has been in cultivation, should be plowed 

 to a good depth. The fact that land has been previously 

 plowed and cultivated is often an argument in favor 

 of more thorough preparation rather than a suggestion 

 that the work may be slighted. There is no doubt but 

 that careless handling has put some of our heavier soils 

 in worse condition than they were in their native state. 

 Alfalfa land should be well plowed if it is to be planted 

 to young orchard. Turning the sod with a good sharp 

 plow with an extra long share will save much labor in 

 killing out the alfalfa the first season, for when once an 

 alfalfa plant is cut off below the crown, it does not sprout 

 from below; but a portion of a crown attached to a tap- 

 root is a trouble maker. When the crown is severed 

 from the taproot and buried, it may throw up sprouts, 

 but a little deep cultivation soon discourages them. 



Some persons recommend the use of the subsoil plow 

 in breaking up subsoils that are inclined to be hard. It 

 may be that this tool could be used successfully to break 

 up the marly subsoils of our thin mesa land and loosen 

 some of the heavy soils that refuse to take water. In 

 most cases it would hardly pay to subsoil the whole area, 

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