the soil will deteriorate. It is not wise to sow the small grains 

 or to grow grass in young orchards. It is sometimes desirable 

 to grow small fruits such as strawberries, currants and rasp- 

 berries in the open spaces between the trees, leaving, however, a 

 space of not less than six feet along the row of trees for culti- 

 vation. These crops if grown, should also be fertilized annu- 

 ally with five to six hundred pounds per acre of a commercial 

 fertilizer. After the trees begin to bear fruit, especially where 

 they are interplanted with fillers, it is better not to grow other 

 crops, but rather plow the soil in the early spring, and harrow 

 and cultivate it weekly until about the first of July. At that 

 time sow red and crimson clover in equal parts at the rate of 

 eighteen pounds per acre and cover the seed by harrowing the 

 ground lightly. 



Clover is a leguminous plant. By the aid of certain soil bac- 

 teria, small nodules are produced on the roots which have the 

 power of gathering the free Nitrogen from the air. In this man- 

 ner, it is therefore possible to add Nitrogen to the soil in a 

 most desirable form. Another object of clover culture is to 

 cover the soil during the winter, which is highly necessary 

 after the fine tillage it has received, to save the washing away 

 of valuable fine particles of soil during the heavy rains of 

 autumn and winter. Still another purpose in sowing clover is 

 for the improvement of the soil texture. Clover roots penetrate 

 deeply and bring up from the sub-soil unused plant food. It 

 also adds to the vegetable matter or humus, which is an im- 

 portant factor in holding and conserving moisture. 



The clover should be plowed under, the following spring, 

 the soil again cultivated until the early part of July and then 

 re-seeded with the clover mixture. Crimson clover being 

 an annual will grow rapidly and make a large plant by the lat- 

 ter part of autumn. The red clover having a longer tap-root 

 will stand the winter better and will frequently come through 

 the spring in good condition, while the crimson will be more or 

 less killed by the freezing and thawing weather. The crimson 

 clover, however, did its work the preceding autumn, having left 

 in the soil a good supply of Nitrogen. Do not cut or remove the 

 clover, rather leave it to nourish the soil. 



There is much interest and discussion over a system of 



