8 BULLETIN 29, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to the tree row without crowding the horse or mule against the tree. 

 An extension disk harrow is sometimes used for the same reasons, but 

 is drawn by four horses, with one team in the lead. One man sits 

 on the machine to operate and guide the outfit, while another man 

 rides the wheel horse and drives the team. This manner of driving 

 a 4-horse team is the common one in this section, and it is obviously 

 the best in the orchard. Some orchardists prefer to plow the land 

 before harrowing and use the disk little, if at all. 



The horse implements found by experience to be most serviceable 

 on such lands are the 1 -horse single-shovel plow, the bar-share plow 

 (a term applied by West Virginians to the common chilled plow), 

 and the spring-tooth harrow. 



On the stony land the ordinary cultivation with horse implements 

 will not always keep down weeds and sprouts, so that the operation 

 of sprouting is one that adds to the cost of cultivation. On the rich 

 chert lands the weeds and sprouts grow vigorously and rapidly. It 

 is believed that by thoroughly sprouting the land this operation 

 may later be dispensed with, as the sprouts interfered with in this 

 way will cease attempting to grow. 



Cultivation for the control of moisture is not considered such an 

 important operation on the land covered thickly with rock, but on 

 the exposed soils it must be continuous during the growing season, 

 especially when trees are bearing fruit. Cultivation is often con- 

 tinued up to the time peaches are picked, since it seems to delay 

 ripening, thus furnishing the manager an effective means of control 

 when it seems wise to delay ripening a few days. Some growers 

 believe that cultivation increases the size of peaches, thus furnishing 

 another reason for thorough cultivation. Such facts explain to some 

 extent why in this section of West Virginia the cost of cultivation 

 increases with the size of the fruit crop. This is partly due, however, 

 to the fact that there is a natural tendency to cut down expenses 

 when the crop fails. The promise of a good crop also encourages 

 expenditure not only to save the crop but to benefit the growth of 

 trees for future crops. 



The average orchard is gone over from three to six times a year with 

 horse implements, and the newly cleared land is sprouted two or 

 three times besides. Few orchardists in this section give absolutely 

 clean cultivation, however. Clean cultivation on the red soils costs 

 about S10 per acre, while on chert lands it costs about $15 per acre. 

 The best orchard managers use a cover crop on the smooth lands. 

 This is usually rye, although some have had success with crimson 

 clover. The cost of the rover crop is about $2 per acre. 



The cost of cultivation may be said to vary between $5 and $15 

 per acre, the variation being due to character of soil, topography, and 

 the number of times it seems wise and economical for the owner to 



