THE APPLE 33 



and air until late in the season^ covers the land during 

 the winter and supplies a large amount of organic mat- 

 ter to be turned under in the spring — April or early 

 May — when we can work the land more easily and 

 profitably than if done later in the season and perhaps 

 with the greatest profit to the trees. 



Soy beans and cowpeas produce a large amount of 

 organic matter and collect much nitrogen from the 

 atmosphere, but they must be grown during the hot 

 weather of summer, and do not grow and absorb nitro- 

 gen from the atmosphere or save that in the soil from 

 being lost after the first frost in the autumn as do 

 peas planted with barley. If the seed is drilled in about 

 the middle of August, the land kept cultivated and 

 the frosts hold off until the middle or last of September, 

 a good quantity of organic matter may be produced by 

 these crops and no injury be done to the trees, but if 

 grown through July and August and the season is dry, 

 the trees would be seriously injured. The cover crops 

 should be allowed to lie on the land during the winter 

 if it is hilly to prevent washing. 



All of the clovers make their main growth during 

 the months of May and June, and in thin soils are less 

 valuable than crops that make their growth in the fall. 

 But on land not subject to drouth clovers are especially 

 valuable, as they take their nitrogen largely from the air 

 and save such as may be developing in the soil during 

 the fall and early spring that would be lost with a 

 dead crop, like soy beans, cowpeas, or even peas and 

 barley. As some of the nitrogen may be released 

 during the month of May, trees will not be as much 

 injured by the clover crops, however, as they would be 

 with rye or spring sown oats. 



Field leans are grown in many orchards as a field 

 crop, and if planted with a machine, and harvested, 

 threshed and cleaned cheaply, will prove profitable, but 



