1 r»o 



chardinn;, this depends upon con- 

 ditions and not infrequently upon 

 conditions which are larsjely con- 

 jecture. The one factor which 

 will most larg-ely influence the 

 time when a cover crop should 

 be sown for anv particular kind of 

 fruit is the proper amount of 

 so 1 moisture durinsr the late sum- 

 mer and fall months. One of the 

 chief reasons for sowin<r the cover 

 crop is the rcffulation of soil mois- 

 ture during the latter part of the 

 summer in an attem.pt to control 

 the wood jjrowth of the season. If 

 the season he especiallv moist, 

 and the indications are that it will 

 so continue then the cover crov 

 needs to Itc sown earlv so that 

 the increasfed s^rowth which the 

 cover makes will draw upon the 

 surplus moisture of the soil, and 

 give the desired result as to wood- 

 ripen nor. On the other hand, if 

 the season has been part cularlv 

 drv and the trees have practicallv 

 ceased to grow, the cover crop 

 need not be sown earlv, the chief 

 concern bcinir to have it o-n the 

 p-round in sulhcient time to pre- 

 vent anv post-season growth 

 caused bv late sum er or e irlv 

 fall rains. 



— Crops. — 



There is almost an etidless 

 amount of discussion as to the 

 crops best suited for a cover for 

 the orchard. It is almost impos- 

 sible to get anv two orchardists 

 to ap-ree upon the subject, and it 

 is safe to sav that no one crop is 

 best under all conditions. F.verv 

 croT) has its particular advantages 

 which- ^mav be those of season, 

 other factors. For convenience, we 

 amount of growth produced, and 

 divide the crons used as a 'cover 

 into two chief classes, ba.sed upon 

 whether or not they add anv con- 

 siderable ciuantity of food. We 

 term leguminous crops, food-sup- 

 nliers, and the others, non-lenim- 

 inous or non-food-supplving. 



The benefits derived frf)m the use 

 of a co\er crop will, denend verv 

 larc^elv iinon the rood iucl"ment ex- 

 ercised bv the orchardist, and 

 while mistakes may be made ow- 

 infT to inabilitv to tell iust what 

 the future conditions will be, the 

 cover cron will in the lon«»^ run 

 vindicate itself as a companion to 

 clean culture in a rational svstem 

 of orchard manatrement. Occa- 

 sion all v an orchardist stops culti- 

 vatinr at the proper time, and al- 

 lows Nature to provide him with 

 a cover crop in the form of weeds. 

 Tt would hardly seem necessary to 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



March, 191 4 



adx-'ance anv arguiment against 

 such a procedure. The growing of 

 weeds as a cover crop simplv 

 means that the labor expended in 

 eradicating them will in time, 

 more than offset the cost of using 

 a legitimate cover. Some may 

 sav that the season of growth 

 will be too short for the weeds to 

 ripen seed. If this be true, it will 

 onlv be a short time until those 

 weeds which produce the cover are 

 those which have a short season 

 and ripen their seeds 'early, for 

 unless this be so, the weed cover 

 crop, must in a short time lose 

 its source of seeding, and become 

 a thing of the past. At the verv 

 best, a cover crop of weeds is an 

 uncertain thing, and one which we 

 believe should not be practiced by 

 anyone who wishes to keep his 

 orchard in the best condit: on at a 

 minimum expenditure of time and 

 money. 



Fumigation of Glasshouses 

 Frames, Nursery Stock, etc 

 with Cyanide. 



Method of Application. — The 

 glass-house or other place which is 

 to be treated must be rendered as 

 airtight as possible. 



The sulphuric acid .should be 

 noured verv carefuUv and slowl^' 

 into the water, which may be puj: 

 in an earthenware vessel, e.g., a 

 large iam' jar. The cvanide of 

 potassium, wrapr>ed in thin blot- 

 ting paper, should then 1>? rVv^t^^-p. ' 

 into the now diluted siil'>Huric 

 acid. The vessel into which the 

 cvanide, is dropped must be so 

 near the door that it can be reaich- 

 ed bv the ^outstretched arth of the 

 operator, who should iiipme'^i-itelv 

 shut the door and close up its 

 chinks bv 'p-^ner previoiv«1-" ^ro- 

 iiared. Another, and better, me- 

 thod is for ths operator to intro- 

 duce the cvanide to the diluted 

 snli'ihuric acid through a window, 

 the cvanide beinr^ placed at the end 

 of n lou"- stick or ro'd, or bHn - 

 lf)wercd into the acid by a string 

 find nrdlev. The window must be 

 clo.sed immediatelv after the addi- 

 tion of the cvanide, so that the 

 operator mav escape' the fumes. 

 Stra.wson recommends the pouring 

 of the diluted acid from a bottle 

 fitted with a cork in which 'two 

 slits are ciut, one to let in air 

 and the other to allow a small 

 „ and even stream to flow upon 



provide a slow and even disen- 

 gagement of gas. The bottle 

 should be arranged so that it can 

 be tilted up when all is ready. 



It is of importance also that the 

 hvdrocyanic acid gas fumes be dis- 

 tributed over the house, and this 

 may be done bv an arrangement of 

 fans which can be worked from 

 the outside.- 



Fumigation should take place in 

 the evening, or after nightlall, and 

 not in strong sunlig^ht. The tein- 

 perature of the house should 'be 

 from 50 degs. F. to 6o degs. F. 

 The plants to be treated should be 

 dry. The surface of the soil of 

 the house should also be as dry as 

 practiicable. 



In thei treatment of nursery 

 stock the bushes or young trees 

 should be placed in an airtight 

 box or canvas tent of known ca- 

 pacity and subjected to the fumes 

 of hydrocyanic acid gas for one 

 hour. I/arge numbers can be treat- 

 ed at once at little expense. 



the cvanide, the object being to 



