180 THE HOME ORCHARD— APPLE, PEAR, QUINCE 



Winter Cover Crops.— In the last half of the summer a cover 

 crop may be sown, provided the inter-crop is out of the way. If 

 early potatoes, for example, are grown between the rows this crop 

 may be harvested and the soil then disked and sown with a cover 

 crop. One of the best mixtures for northern states is rye and 

 winter vetch. In the central and southern states crimson clover 

 may be added to this mixture. Use one bushel of rye and one 

 peck of vetch and one-half peck crimson clover per acre. 



Green Manuring and Fertilizing. — In the spring after the winter 

 cover crop has had time to make a spring growth the crop may be 

 turned under as green manure. The soil should then be disked 

 and the annual inter-crop may be planted. The best time to apply 

 commercial fertilizer is just after the first spring plowing. The 

 fertilizer then added will help the inter-crop and also help the 

 orchard trees. A well balanced fertilizer may be mixed at home to 

 suit the soil requirements. While the orchard is young some fer- 

 tilizer rich in nitrogen should be used. After the trees are of 

 bearing age, omit most of the nitrogen and add more phosphate 

 and potash. The quantity to be added will depend on whether 

 or not the soil is naturally fertile. 



Pruning the Orchard. — Much of the vigor and health of the 

 orchard depends upon the annual pruning. Most of this work will 

 be done in the winter when other farm work is less pressing (Fig. 

 104). But some light pruning in midsummer is valuable, partic- 

 ularly with young trees. Pruning the orchard is as important as 

 spraying, cultivating, or fertilizing. 



Figure 105 shows the fruit spurs of the apple tree. In pruning 

 old trees we should be careful not to remove such spurs. There 

 are a number of points to be remembered by the operator while 

 doing the annual winter pruning. 



1. Remove all dead or diseased parts and burn these if affected 

 with blight or other serious disease. 



2. Cut out broken limbs. 



3. Prune out all those twigs which strike across the body of 

 the tree. 



4. When two or more limbs extend along the same line or 

 closely parallel each other, prune away the less vigorous. 



5. Thin the head of the tree enough to admit plenty of light 

 and air to all parts. Never allow crowding in the tree top. 



6. Cut back some of the new growth on young trees or on any 

 that grow rapidly. A third or a half of such growth is often pruned 

 back. 



