56 



THE OEANGE, 



the descent the soil washes badly; and if 

 they are made transversely the water col- 

 lects, breaks over and runs straight down, 

 washing the soil as much as in the former 

 instance. The single plowing in the fall 

 or early winter I regard as ample for this 

 kind of cultivation, if the soil is reasona- 

 bly loose. Should it be of such character, 

 however, as to be considerably compacted 

 hy the winter rains, another plowing in 

 early spring is required. At most, do not 

 plow more than twice in a year. After 

 the dry season has set in, deep cultivation 

 causes evaporation rather than retarding 

 it. In plowing be careful not to go too 

 deep in the first half dozen furrows next 

 the trees. Avoid lacerating the roots which 

 may lie near the surface, though I will 

 say frankly that if they are close enough 

 to be much interfered with by a single 

 plow, it is a bad sign — a sign of too much 

 irrigation. 



Cultivating. — Aside from the one or 

 two plowings, the rest of the year's work 

 is done with the cultivator^ followed, in 

 some instances, by the harrow or clod 

 crusher or "slicker." Many kinds of 

 cultivators are in use, from the old-style 

 hand implement, drawn by one horse, to 

 the Acme and others, with a seat for the 

 driver, and requiring two, three or four 

 horses. In selecting an implement, the 

 orchardist must be guided by the require- 

 ments of his ground and the amplitude of 

 his purse. Each implement in use is prob- 

 ably best adapted to some particular soil. 

 If the ground is stony, one kind may not 

 work at all; if inclined to break up in 

 clods, another may be useless. Study 

 your requirements and see what your 

 neighbors use and like best before you in- 

 vest in an implement. During the spring 

 months it is a good plan to cultivate after 

 every rain. Each rain may prove the last 

 of the season, you know, and it will not 

 do to lose any moisture that may be hus- 

 banded for the long, dry summer. For 



soils that are more or less stifif, a clod- 

 crusher, constructed of planks, to drag 

 over the ground and mash down the 

 lumps is in general use. Some growers 

 employ, on more mellow soils, a "slick- 

 er," an implement not altogether unlike a 

 stone-boat, by which the surface is re- 

 duced to a fine tilth and smoothed off like 

 a shirt bosom. This gives an orchard a 

 most tidy and well-kept appearance after 

 cultivation, and is practical as well as 

 aesthetic. The harrow is occasionally used 

 to run over the ground and break the 

 lumps or the crust that may have formed 

 after a rain. I would not advise a very 

 constant use of the harrow, however, as 

 its effect is to pack the soil just below the 

 surface. There is also more likelihood of 

 injury to the trees from it. In all the cul- 

 tivation of the orchard, I must enjoin the 

 greatest care. Both a steady horse and a 

 steady and experienced man should be 

 employed, or great, perhaps irreparable, 

 damage may result. It is a good plan to 

 use a short single-tree or to wrap the ends 

 with cloths to avoid barking the trees. 



After the rains are over, it is necessary 

 that the orchard ground be at all times in 

 a mellow condition and free from w^eeds. 

 For this, one cultivation a month general- 

 ly sufiaces. A cultivation should follow 

 each irrigation if water has been run on 

 the surface at all. To make a clean job of 

 weed exterminating, I have found it best 

 to let a man follow the cultivator with a 

 hoe and chop up everything that escapes 

 the implement. Some of the three and 

 four-horse cultivators have weed cutters 

 attached, but even with them it is neces- 

 sary to hoe the weeds close to the trees. 



Judgment the Best Monitor.— If the 

 orchardist have a knowledge of the theory 

 of cultivation, his own judgment will be 

 the best guide as to when and how the 

 work should be done. Only let him be 

 thorough if he would command success. 



CHAPTER XV. 



IRRIGATION. 



The Irrigating Season. — From the There are exceptions, of course, as in the 

 first of April to the first of November may year 1884, when rain fell in all these so- 

 be accounted California's rainless season, called dry months except July; but, tak- 



