32 FIELD NOTES ON APPLE CULTURE. 



There are some eases in whicli seeding cannot be dis- 

 pensed with, as in old orchards and on stony ground 

 which cannot be plowed. One of the advantages of good 

 and persistent cultivation, as long as the orchard can be 

 plowed, is to prepare soil and trees for the sodded old 

 age which overtakes the tree at last and forbids the en- 

 croachment of the plow. Orchard grass is a general 

 favorite for old orchards, but unless it is sown thickly 

 and is fed down close it is apt to make "stools," or 

 clumps. Nearly all soils will run into June grass, 

 which makes a smooth and firm sod. Every two or three 

 years apply a heavy top-dressing of any mulch or manure 

 >vhich is cheapest. Dressings of wood ashes are excel- 

 lent. Straw is also one of the most desirable mulches. 

 I have known a straw mulch a foot thick to decay and 

 to pass almost out of sight in one year. Fallen leaves 

 spread over the ground and held down by sedge or other 

 coarse material are also excellent. The sedge and weeds 

 which grow in bogs, if mowed early, before the seeds 

 are ripe, may be used to advantage ; also brakes, fine 

 brush, sawdust, coarse horse manure — in fact, any ma- 

 terial which can be spread over the surface to sufficient 

 depth to keep the sod loose and which will decay speedily, 

 is to be recommended. This mulch is to be applied only 

 through the center of the spaces if sufficient quantity can- 

 not be had to cover the whole ground. On many of the 

 rocky hillsides in the Eastern States, where the plow 

 cannot be used, trees could no doubt be grown at a profit 

 with no other cultivation than an annual heavy dressing 

 of manure. It should be remembered that old orchards 

 can usually be plowed to within ten or fifteen feet of 



