THIRTY-THIRD BIENNIAL SESSION 
III 
you could, under the conditions, cultivate a small orchard — though you could 
probably cultivate a large one. 
Mr. Flournoy: We do not get clear up to the trunk of the tree. Certainly 
you can extend your double tree. For years we have been extending our 
cutaway harrows and using the mules. Put a six-foot cutaway harrow 
on a twelve-foot board and extend it out under the limbs. Do that on an 
orchard machine just the same as though cultivating with mules. We 
have been cutting a strip about slixteen feet wide in orchards with trees 
planted thirty feet apart, full-grown trees; and we think that we get up 
under the trees far enough if we go both ways. We get up under 1 the 
limbs and it is not necessary to go clear up to the trunks of the trees. 
Mr. Soper: Ifi Delaware we started with the tractor this season. A fifteen 
or thirty horse power tractor will handle a great deal; and, equipped 
with a twenty-inch disc they are getting to be very satisfactory. Of course 
our soil is sandy, but we have been finding that the tractor will work in 
the sandy soil very well. We set out a tract of land in apples, nine years 
ago. The trees were planted twenty feet apart. They were not planted for 
the use of the tractor, but we used the end row as a turn-row, and we can 
turn out of one land, skip one and come back with the other, and it works very 
satisfactorily both ways. 
Mr. Koiner: Last week I witnessed the demonstration in my State of 
a nine horse power gasoline walking plow, turning plow, harrow, etc. 
It had just one small belt, and it occurred to me in witnessing that 
demonstration that it is a splendid thing for the small orchardist, for he 
can get anywhere he wants. Nine horse power is the highest, and I think 
in sandy soil, as far as the plow has been perfected, it would work all 
right, and on almost any soil for harrowing and that sort of work. I 
make mention of this because, I consider it an interesting point for those 
of us who have small orchards. 
Mr. Williams: Mr. Chairman, there are only two things that requires a 
variation from forty-five horse power to eight horse power, and those are 
the difference in soil conditions and grade. Where we have a different soil 
or grade, it requires a difference as to the size of the horse power. The 
average man surely needs to study the conditions and get an idea as to 
requirements between the eight horse power and the forty-five horse power, 
according to the soil and the lay of the land. 
Question: I would like to ask these gentlemen using tractors if they 
have ever used them for turning under cover crops? 
Mr. Burton: We have in fields altogether, but absolutely refuse to try 
that in our orchard. 
Mr. Lewis: We use the tractors on the Pacific Coast very extensively 
in our large orchards, and when it comes to the sandy or light soils, 
very successfully. We can plow them for twenty to twenty-six cents an 
acre. If we put them on for twenty-four hours, night and day, we get the 
entire use of our money. Such investments take a lot of money and putting 
on a lot of service is the only way to get full returns. If the soil is sandy 
and light the tractor works beautifully, but on the heavy clay loams it is* 
another story. We generally use a thirty horse power engine. As far as 
may be we have our engines adapted to conditions; but we have not yet 
effected a good solution for the heavy clay loams. Some people are using 
