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in the face of the common practice in vSouth Africa of using oxen for 

 traction purposes. An orchard makes a good burial place for dead 

 oxen, but they should not be admitted in any first-class, well kept 

 plantation in a Hyb state. 



In ploughing one must be careful always to keep in view the 

 necessity of having level land for irrigation furrows ; as a consequence 

 the constant turning of the soil either towards or away from the trees 

 must be avoided. Ploughing always at the same depth is also undesir- 

 able, as it tends to form a hard pan under the plough sole, and the land 

 should not be ploughed more than twice in the same direction. 



When an orchard is laid out in squares there are always two well- 

 defined avenues, and these should be dealt with alternately, so that the 

 whole of the soil in the orchard is deeply broken up. 



After ploughing at the time of the year mentioned it is not neces- 

 sary to bring the surface soil down to a particularly fine condition of 

 tilth unless a cover crop is to be planted. If it is left fairly open and 

 not broken up too finely the rain soaks in more readily and deeper than 



it would if a finer tilth had been arrived at. When the rains are over, 

 there is no prospect of more for months, and so the land has to be 

 disked and brought down to as fine and deep a surface condition as 

 possible. This surface soil acts as a mulch, and if frequently stirred, 

 as it should be, evaporation is reduced to a minimum. 



It is here that a good two-horse cultivator is of the greatest assis- 

 tance. Given a good machine of the type shown, five to seven acres 

 per day can readily be dealt with, and it is this frequent cultivation 

 which retains the moisture. Should rain occur the machine should be 

 run over the ground as soon afterwards as possible. One of the 

 oldest axioms of the orchardist is " After irrigation, cultivation." 



