162 THE APPLE 



Usually, however, the returns from this fruit are not so large as 

 from the currant. 



Blackberries and raspberries are sometimes planted in the 

 orchard. They are not so well liked as the other small fruits, 

 chiefly because of their thorns and new sucker growth. Both of 

 these characteristics render cultivation and other work among them 

 more difficult. The returns from blackberries approach those 

 obtained from currants, but the raspberries are greatly inferior as 

 a money producer. 



3 . J Vegetables. Many kinds of vegetables may serve as an inter- 

 crop with apple trees. Some of the most commonly used are 

 potatoes, cabbage, beans, squash, melons, turnips, beets, carrots, 

 the selection depending on the demand of the market or the needs 

 of the farm. It is better, however, to select several crops, if possible, 

 and grow them in rotation. In a large orchard a third of the area 

 may be planted to potatoes, another third to squash, and the other 

 to beans ; the next year potatoes may be succeeded by squash, 

 squash by beans, and . beans by potatoes ; the third year beans 

 may be substituted for squash, potatoes for beans, and squash for 

 potatoes, followed the next year by the original crops. By rotating 

 the crops or changing them each year, there is less robbery of 

 certain elements of the soil and better returns are usually obtained. 



4. Field crops. Some of the field crops are not suitable for use 

 in the orchard. Corn seems to be the crop that is the least desir- 

 able ; it robs the young trees of sunlight, moisture, and food, and 

 has not met with the general approval of those who have grown it. 

 Rye, oats, wheat, buckwheat, or barley, being robbers of soil moisture 

 and plant food, are not to be specially recommended as companion 

 crops. However, for late planting as cover crops, they offer some 

 advantages. If they are to be grown early in the spring or summer, 

 they should be spaced off from the trees as described previously 

 (p. 160), to prevent injury to the young trees. 



Cow beets, mangel-wurzels, and other large root crops that are 

 sometimes grown as field crops may be used as an intercrop with 

 a good deal of success and satisfaction, especially where they are 

 planted far enough from the young trees, and good, clean cultivation 

 is practiced. The returns from such a crop are often large and 

 are of special value to the orchardist who keeps cows. 



