268 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
We make it a hard and fast rule that 
no crop is placed closer than four feet 
from the trees. Thus eight feet or more 
is thoroughly cultivated. Hoeing alone 
is poor cultivation and it does not pay 
to just hoe a circle around the trees and 
put crops on the balance of the land. 
We practice clean culture the first year 
and seed in the fall with winter wheat. 
After the crop is harvested the stubble 
is plowed in the fall and remains rough 
over winter. In the spring of the third 
year the land is prepared and peas are 
planted for hogs and seed. The fourth 
year potatoes are planted on the pea 
land. We have experimented with and 
grown many other crops, among them, 
winter vetch for cow, hay and seed, clover 
for hay, lentils for seed, trees, rye, oats 
and garden truck. 
Rye, wheat and oats have given the best 
net returns but never more than one crop 
in the orchard is allowed. One crop of 
any of the three will not injure the orch- 
ard or land one iota. Some places we 
have had better success, no doubt due to 
the fact that the orchard could be covered 
sooner after a rain with the cultivator 
than where all the land had to be culti- 
vated, in the clean culture method. 
Wheat—The total cost of the care of 
the orchard, growing, harvesting and mar- 
keting the wheat crop on 1,245 acres was 
$12,469.86. The wheat crop brought $14,- 
263.86 or a gain of $1,794.00 or $1.44 per 
acre above the entire cost of orchard and 
crop. It cost $11,426.16 or $6.43 per acre 
to take care of 1,777 acres of orchard in 
about the same condition as the orchard 
having the wheat crop. Therefore the 
actual gain was $1.44 plus $6.43 or $7.87 
per acre. . 
Peas—Figuring on the same basis, peas 
gave a net gain of $2.23 per acre. This is 
not a large gain, but when it is considered 
that the soil was improved, it is actually 
a large gain. 
Potatoes—Potatoes cost us in the pit 
and storage 38 cents per hundred weight. 
Winter Vetch—We have had fair suc- 
cess raising vetch hay and seed, but the 
greatest benefit has been derived from the 
Fig. 2. 
In the Spring of the Third Year Peas Are Planted. 
