Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands, 1 83 



them about the time the leaves start, hence 

 the importance of a living or growing mulch. 



Self Mulched Trees. — Much depends 

 upon the style of building which has been em- 

 ployed when the trees were formed as to the 

 methods to be used in their care and cultiva- 

 tion. This is particularly true as regards 

 mulching, on much of the thin, shaly soils of 

 the steeper sections of the apple belt it might 

 be advisable to grow the trees so that they 

 would mulch themselves. That is, have the 

 hea4s low enough that there would not be any 

 vegetation grow under them. This has proven 

 very satisfactory in our own orchard, which is 

 too steep to admit of the dust mulch, or to al- 

 low the hauling in of foreign material. The 

 land needs a continual cover. It is too thin to 

 get a sod mulch such as would insure good 

 results. So this self mulching plan has been 

 practiced very satisfactorily. Mulches of dif- 

 ferent kinds are growing in favor as orchard 

 covering, especially on steep, rolling land, and 

 they **will be used more in the future than 

 they tiave been in the past. 



Care of the Trees. — The general care of 

 the trees includes so much, even in a single or- 

 chard;" that to attempt to give it with the 

 variations to suit the manv different locations, 



