Plowing Orchards. 157 
erally advisable to turn the land rather deep with a 
plow at the .first spring cultivation. For the subse- 
quent cultivation of the season, there are many styles 
of clod crushers, spring-tooth harrows, cut-aways and 
smoothing harrows, which adapt themselves readily to 
the cultivation of the particular soil in question. 
There is no single style of tool which is best for all 
soils or for all years. As a general statement, it may 
be said that for all heavy lands the fruit-grower 
needs four types of harrows,—the cut-away, or 
spading-harrow type for hard land, and the first 
spring work; the spring-tooth type, the Acme or 
elod-crusher type, and the smoothing-harrow type. 
The last is to be used only to make and maintain the 
surface mulch after the land has been got in fine 
tilth. In all friable or loose soils, shallow cultivation 
is always preferable. When the land is once in good 
condition, but little effort and time are required to 
run through the orchard. Crust should never be al- 
lowed to form upon the surface, and weeds should be 
killed before they become firmly established. The 
entire surface of the orchard should be thoroughly 
stirred as often as once in ten days or two weeks 
whilst the tillage lasts. 
In general, level culture is best. This is secured 
by plowing one year to the trees and the following 
year away from them; one year north and south, and 
the next year east and west. It is somewhat difficult 
to plow away from large trees, however, and with the 
cultivators or harrows now in use, it is easy to work 
the soil away by subsequent cultivation, allowing the 
