114 



THE APPLE 



The orchardist who wishes to conserve the maximum amount 

 of soil water must cultivate, and cultivate thoroughly. 



Cultivation promotes drainage. Compare two fields during a 

 rain, one well prepared and cultivated, the other in need of culture. 

 The latter, because its soil is hard and not in good physical con- 

 dition, absorbs very little of the rain, and soon a stream of surface 

 water is flowing from the field and is lost to it forever. In con- 

 trast to this the soil of the well-cultivated field, being in a loose, 



Fig. 47. A fine young orchard, well cultivated. (Bowker Fertilizer Company) 



more or less porous condition, acts like a sponge and seems to be 

 ever hungry for more water. It is only in the heaviest rains, such 

 as cloud-bursts or long-continued downpours, that the cultivated 

 field ever suffers loss of water. The water is largely retained and 

 stored in the soil by proper cultivation following the rain, thus 

 furnishing abundant moisture for the future development of the 

 tree. Where the soil is underdrained the water passes slowly down 

 to the drains and the excess is removed through this medium. 



Surface-water loss means not only water loss, but soil, manure, 

 fertilizer, and humus loss, all of which are required for tree and 



