REPORT ON THE No. 24 



draw heavily upon the plant food in the soil and return very little in the way of 

 roots or plant residue. If such crops are successively grown for several years, 

 they are almost sure to seriously deplete the soil of fertility, unless extra care is 

 taken to maintain it by the application of manure or fertilizers. Probably on the 

 whole the least objectionable cropping is a well arranged rotation of crops, in 

 which clover and hoed crops alternate frequently enough to keep the ground in 

 good condition. Some of these crops harbor mice, and whenever such occur in 

 the rotation precautions must be taken at the approach of winter to protect the 

 trees from their ravages. 



During all this intercropping a strip in which the trees are growing must 

 be left for regular cultivation, and this strip should be widened each year as 

 the trees increase in size. No cropping should be attempted under the head of 

 the trees, and intercropping should be discontinued as soon as the trees require 

 all the space. 



Cultivation. 



Cultivation improves the physical condition of the soil by breaking up the 

 soil particles and presenting a greater feeding surface to the roots. By warming 

 and deepening the soil, it permits of a greater depth of feeding area. Every 

 soil particle is surrounded by a thin film of moisture, consequently the finer the 

 soil particles the greater the surface area to hold moisture. A dry earth mulch 

 or dust blanket on top checks the evaporation of moisture from below. Cultiva- 

 tion renders plant food more readily available by promoting nitrification and the 

 decomposition of organic matter in the soil. 



Knowing this to be the case, many growers have given thorough cultivation 

 a fair trial, and have satisfied themselves that for most sections of Ontario clean 

 cultivation with cover crops is more profitable than sod. There are indeed few 

 cases where sod is more desirable than cultivation; these are where the soil is 

 fertile and contains an abundant supply of moisture. 



As soon as possible after the trees are set, a strip on each side should be 

 cultivated to loosen up the soil which has been tramped down during planting. 

 Each year this strip should be widened, so that no crop intended for harvesting 

 is grown beneath the branches of the trees. 



Cultivation should begin as early as the ground is dry enough in the spring. 

 The first tool to be used in most cases is the plow. It is well to plow the land 

 about five inches deep during the first few years after setting to encourage deep 

 rooting. As the trees get older the depth of plowing should be gradually les- 

 sened, until by the time the orchard is in full bearing, three to four inches is suf- 

 ficient. 



It is a good practice to roll each evening what has be«n plowed during the 

 day, particularly if the ground is inclined to be lumpy. The soil is much more 

 easily pulverized when freshly plowed than if allowed to lie exposed to the weather 

 for several days. 



Cover Crops. 



The value of growing cover crops in the orchard is being more appreciated 

 every year by fruit growers, who in times past viewed with alarm the injury 

 which occurred from root killing where the soil was bare in winter. A cover crop 

 is a covering of vegetation in the orchard during the latter part of summer and 

 early winter, and is useful in many ways, of which the following are some of 

 the most important : (i) A cover crop, by adding a large amount of fibre to the 

 land, prevents hard soils from cemepting or puddling. (2) On bare and rolling 



2a F. o. 



