Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 63 



Protection from Winds.— The protection 



of fruit plantations from heavy winds is another 

 phase of the question that should not be over- 

 looked when considering the aspect, as it may 

 mean much to the grower. For instance, a 

 Western slope may be so mugh exposed to con- 

 stant winds that the trees may suffer by being 

 blown or worked around during soft, open 

 weather in winter. Then the snows will be 

 blown off much worse, thereby depriving the 

 soil of a supply of moisture which it would 

 have received from the melting snow. Not only 

 has the soil lost the moisture supply, but the 

 cover crops, if there be any, have lost the pro- 

 tection that the snows would have afforded 

 them, and the soil is frequently left bare during 

 long cold spells which follow windy snow 

 storms. Sometimes the roots of the trees suffer 

 from freezing. 



Again we find that the leaves are all blown 

 from our orchards. This is a loss of fertility; 

 or they are drifted into the low places, and this 

 is a source of danger when allowed to pile 

 aroutid the trees, as it is almost impossible to 

 keep the mice from harboring in them and 

 barking the trees. Frequently, even when the 

 bodies of the trees are protected we find the 

 mice burrowing down under the leaves and 

 peeling the entire root system. 



