the evaporation of soil moisture. 
This harrowing or cultivating shoula be continued until 
about the first of August when as soon as weather conditions 
are favorable, the seed for the cover crop shouid be sown, 
The commercial fertilizer, if used, should be applied and 
worked into the soil just before the cover crop is sown, In 
this wav the cover crop gets the immdiate effect of the fer- 
£11izers and when the cover crop is plowed under the fclliow- 
ing spring it soon decays and makes available plant food for 
the trees. The cover crop thus chec.:s the loss by leaching, 
and renders the plant foods in a much more evailable form 
for the use of the trees the folleving year. The cultivation 
for the succeeding years it about the same as thas suggested 
for the first vear. 
In verv hilly or mountainous sections, this complete 
cannot safely be adopted in the orchards on account of serious 
washing away cr the soil. It mav he necessary to plow strips 
eight or ten feet wide along the rows in tne spring, and 
cultivate these until August when the middles may be plowed, 
the fertilizers applied, and the cover crop sown. A cever crop 
used successfully in Western Maryland is a mixture of crimson 
(-50-) 
