CULTIVATION' OF THE SOIL. 



81 



when they work near the line of trees, one before the other, 

 or tandem. Let a boy ride the forward one,, use long traces 

 and a short whiffletree, and place the whole in the charge of a 

 careful man who knows that one tree is worth more than fifty 

 hills of corn or potatoes, and no danger need be feared. In 



•»«««»««« 



»«•••«««« 



Fig. 113. 



« « * « • 



« « « • « 

 Fig. 116. 



Fig, 



117.- 



the absence of this arrangement, oxen will be safer than horses. 

 A strong single horse will be sufficient for working near the 

 rows, where the plough should run shallow, provided the soil 

 is not hard. 



The annexed cut (Fig. 117) shows a mode of constructing 

 whifHetrees for this purpose, so as to pass the trees freely. 

 It is made as short as the free action of 

 I the animals' legs will allow (about six- 



I teen inches for a single whiffletree). 



I An iron strap is riveted so as to bend 



B round the end of the wood, turning in 



p.. ^ and forming a hook inside. 



^* I « ^^ In very small trees, most of the roots 



are within a few feet of the stem, but 

 their circumference forms an annually 

 increasing circle. Hence the frequent practice of applying 

 manure, or digging the ground closely about the base, as ex- 

 hibited in the annexed figure (118), is comparatively useless. 

 Hence, too, the practice of ploughing a few furrows only on 

 each side of a row of large trees in an orchard, is greatly in- 

 ferior to the cultivation of the whole surface. 



Among the crops which are best suited to young trees are 

 potatoes, ruta-bagag, beets, carrots, beans, and all low-hoed 

 crops. Indian com with its shallow and spreading roots, and 

 the culture usually given it, is a good crop for orchards. All 

 sown crops are to be avoided, and grass is still worse. Mead- 

 ows are ruinous. 

 A chief reason of the fatal effects of sown crops is in the 

 6 



—Xj -wr- 



-Orchard Whiffle- 

 tree. 



