FRUIT-GROWING IX THE UNITED STATES 459 



Rose, New York. Both roots and tops are generally trimmed at 

 the time of setting. Little pruning is required before the tree 

 begins to bear. Branches which cross are removed and possibly a 

 few of the limbs growing back into the tree are pruned out, but 

 very little of the new growth is cut back. After fruiting, pruning 

 is given more attention and the tree is kept more open and free 

 from obstructing limbs and dead wood. 



The best growers are believers in thorough cultivation, although 

 there are a few notable exceptions, some of whom have good grounds 

 for their belief in the sod-mulch practice. We cultivate for the 

 purpose of conserving moisture in the soil and of preparing the 

 soil for root activity. In Monroe County practically a third of all 

 the apple orchards are cultivated every year. Almost another third 

 is cultivated at least three years out of five. Some of the best 

 growers practice fall plowing, especially when no cover crop oc- 

 cupies the ground. This aids materially in reducing the spring 

 work, for when the orchard has been plowed before winter a disk 

 harrow can be used as early in the spring as possible. Thorough 

 cultivation is then practiced until midsummer. The spring-tooth 

 harrow is used extensively, and when the soil is very fine and the 

 rains are not heavy a spike-tooth drag or even a weeder may be 

 used. All the ground is plowed and cultivated, even up to the 

 tree trunks, the soil around which is hoed. 



After cultivation stops, many orchardists allow the weeds to 

 grow, forming a cover crop ; others plant such crops as buckwheat 

 or rye. Legumes are not planted much because of the failure to 

 get a good stand when sown in July. Some have sown legumes 

 in May or early June, and have had a good crop, which was plowed 

 under early the following spring. When the cover crop is sown late 

 in the summer, it is not plowed under until late the following spring, 

 or it may be left over the whole summer. A cover crop made up 

 of cowhorn turnips, oats, and clover or vetch is coming into favor. 



Where orchards have been placed on light or poor soils a new 

 method of cover cropping is used. The ground is plowed in the 

 spring and kept thoroughly cultivated until late spring, when corn 

 is drilled in. A coating of manure may be used to produce a good 

 stand of corn. In the late summer, when the corn has reached a 

 rank growth but before it shows any signs of ripening, it is plowed 



