CHAPTER VIII 
CULTIVATION AND MANAGEMENT 
In the interior of British Columbia the climate is dry. 
As a rule very little rain falls during the summer. The 
orchards depend to a very great extent for their moisture 
upon the snowfall of winter. As the snow melts—and it 
goes on melting on the mountains right into July—the 
water trickles down the mountain-side, giving rise to 
the ‘‘ seepage ”’ nourishment of the orchard. 
MoisturRE CoNnSERVATION.—One of the principal aims 
of the orchard-owner, as, indeed, of every agriculturist 
and farmer in Western and Middle America, is to take 
such measures and carry out such operations as shall to 
the fullest extent preserve this moisture, and prevent it 
from going to waste through evaporation. One way to 
secure this end is to keep the surface during the growing 
season constantly in a fine, powdery state, as fine as 
finest dust. If this surface soil gets dry, it will be all 
the better ; it will keep the soil underneath moist. The 
roots always work into the moist soil, and if the soil is 
dry on the top and moist underneath, the roots will go 
down and not come up. If they come up, they will be 
liable to get scorched by the hot sun. 
Begin to cultivate, using a Kimball cultivator or a fine- 
toothed light harrow, as soon as the ground is dry enough 
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