38 MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY 



Some years the soil may be worked up with a cut- 

 away or disk harrow." 



MULCHING YOUNG TREES 



" On account of the nature of the land at my 

 disposal for nut orchards," writes Dr. Robert T. 

 Morris of New York, " it was necessary to devise 

 some labor-saving plan that would cover the whole 

 ground in a general way. The 200 acres set out to 

 nut trees consist in part of open tilled land, in part 

 of rocky pasture land, difficult of cultivation, and 

 in part of newly cleared forest land with stumps 

 and vigorously sprouting roots. I had previously 

 had some experience with perpetual mulch, and 

 decided to apply this method of treatment to the 

 entire orchard. 



" It seemed to be desirable to confine the mulch 

 to limited areas around the trees, and for this pur- 

 pose I finally chose galvanized iron netting. This 

 is more expensive at the outset than lath or boards, 

 but it lasts for 20 years or more and in the end is 

 very cheap. My netting is 1 foot high and it en- 

 circles a diameter which is estimated to include the 

 root spread of any given tree. The netting stands 

 up like a board up to diameters of 6 or 8 feet, but 

 after that it is supported by yokes of galvanized 

 iron rods stuck into the ground at any desirable 

 points. As the trees grow the diameter of the 

 mulch cage is increased. 



" For mulch I use forest leaves chiefly, as they 

 are abundant and handy. Wood ashes are 

 sprinkled over the mulch in March. They force 

 rapid growth safely if used properly. The chief 

 objection to the permanent mulch seems to be in 

 its furnishing a home for field mice, which gnaw 



