16 Bush-Fruits 



Some commercial growers owning rich soils in moist 

 climates have found mulching desirable, especially in the 

 later years of a plantation's life. The mulch is usually 

 obtained by seeding the land to clover, which is mowed 

 and left on the ground. A practice at one time, and per- 

 haps still in use, was to grow clover on other land, to be 

 cut and spread along the rows, tillage being kept up in the 

 spaces between. 



TILLAGE TOOLS 



Few special tools are needed in the bush-fruit plantation. 

 The cultivator is the most important implement. Any 

 kind which will thoroughly loosen the soil and leave the 

 surface level will answer the purpose. It should be one 

 which will do good work when widely spread. With full- 

 grown bushes it is impossible to do good work except with 

 a wide tool which can run beneath the branches. For 

 suckering varieties, a tool with teeth which are square on 

 the end is desirable. Such teeth will cut many suckers 

 beneath the surface where ordinary teeth will dodge them. 

 They are also useful in cutting off Canada thistles and 

 other deep-rooted plants which often escape. In soil 

 which is free from stones it is possible to use knives or 

 cutting blades of steel which can be made by a blacksmith 

 and attached to an ordinary cultivator. 



For working under large and spreading plants, the 

 scuffle hoe, already mentioned, is a useful tool. Those on 

 the market, especially the crescent scuffle hoe, answer 

 the purpose well. A home-made device, designed for a 

 similar purpose is illustrated in Fig. 1. It was made by 



