SOD IN THE ORCHARD. 31 
CHAPTER VIII. 
SOD IN THE ORCHARD. 
For the first eight or ten years after apple or pear trees 
are set, they demand cultivation with the plow and a lib- 
era] application of manure. After this the orchard may 
often be seeded down for a time to advantage. Whether 
or no an orchard should be seeded will depend upon the 
richness of the soil, the condition of the trees and the 
amount of manure or mold at the command. of the 
grower. There is no general rule. If there is a doubt 
as to the expediency of seeding, it is best to cultivate. 
If an orchard has been properly managed during the 
first ten years of its life the soil will be rich and in good 
tilth. The trees will be making a good growth, and they 
will present a dark and vigorous appearance. Such or- 
chards will bear seeding down and they may profit by it. 
But even under these favorable conditions I do not be- 
lieve that seeding should be pormanent. Two or three — 
years of June grass, orchard grass or clover should com- 
monly be the limit, and during -this time the sod should 
be closely pastured. One trouble with high grass in 
orchards is the increased liability to danger from drouth. 
T have said that cultivation is always safe and profit- 
able, and yet I have seen orchards on heavy land 
which made prodigious wood growth and bore but lit- 
tle. When such orchards were seeded down, the growth 
was checked, and more fruit was the result. These are 
exceptional cases. Apples on cultivated trees are usually 
lighter colored than those on trees in sod. Highly col- 
ored apples are oftenest borne on slow growing trees. 
