Vol. LVI. No. 2460. 
NEW YORK, MARCH 20, 1897. 
$1.00 PER YEAR. 
PREPARATION FOR PLANTING AN ORCHARD. 
Wanted for the Spring of 1 8 9 8. 
What To Sow and Plow Down. 
I have six acres of land that I wish to get in the best shape for 
planting an orchard in the spring of 1898. It has lain for two 
years with nothing on it but weeds. Would I better plow and 
sow the land to oats and clover this spring, and plow down the 
clover and sow to rye next fall ? Or would it do to sow rye 
this spring with clover, and not cut the rye but plow all down 
this fall or next spring ? I wish to keep the land from washing. 
It is not steep. a. c. s. 
McMurray, Penn. 
Use Rye and Clover This Spring. 
The plan proposed by A. C. S. appears to me to be 
an expensive one, if the land is at all valuable. In 
this section, we must make every foot of land produce, 
at least, one crop each year, and if possible, two. 
But since the field has 
already lain idle two 
years, growing nothing 
but weeds, I take it for 
granted that land is 
plenty and cheap, in 
which case his plan 
might be the most 
economical he could 
adopt. As he does not 
give the character of 
either soil or subsoil, 
I would answer on gen¬ 
eral principles. II e 
should try to get a good 
supply of nitrogen for 
the use of his young 
trees, as this is neces¬ 
sary for wood growth, 
and clover is the cheap¬ 
est source of nitrogen, 
where it will catch. The 
soil should be well filled 
with vegetable matter, 
as it will then be in the 
best possible condition 
to promote root growth. 
I would advise sowing 
rye and clover in the 
spring. Cut the rye 
about eight inches high 
before the grain is ripe, 
and allow it to remain 
on the ground as a 
mulch ; the clover will 
grow up through it, and 
be in better shape to 
resist the heat and 
drought of midsummer, 
than if he either re¬ 
moved the straw, or 
allowed it to ripen its 
seed and stand on the 
ground. Then plow 
deep in the fall, taking 
care to make the fur¬ 
rows lap, at least, one- 
half, so as to have the 
vegetable matter dis¬ 
tributed through the 
entire top soil. In the 
spring of 1898. before 
planting, work as deep 
as possible, either with 
a disk or spring harrow. 
GABRIEL IIIESTER. 
Would Plant Corn. 
I would plant the crop 
this season that I 
thought would make 
the best return. I would prefer a crop of corn. If 
oats and clover be sown, there is not often much of a 
crop of clover to plow down the first season. The 
rye, if sown early in the fall, would be good to keep 
the soil from washing. I do not think that it would 
be well to sow rye this spring to plow down in the 
fall; the straw would not be rotted so as to be out of 
the way of planting. I mostly plant in corn stubble 
ground, but last spring, planted 12 acres that had 
been in wheat the year before. It promised a fair 
crop of grass which I did not like to plow down, but 
being the location I wanted, I did so. I planted the 
peach trees last spring, and will plant the apple 
trees this spring, one apple tree to three peach 
trees. Then the peach trees may be removed when 
the apple trees get so large as to require all the 
room. The land should be well plowed before the 
planting, and the trees have thorough culture, and 
be well wormed for, at least, eight years after 
planting. j. hibberd bartram. 
Use Cow Peas, Says Mr. Van Deman. 
As a rule, I do not believe in sowing anything with 
clover to “protect” it, as some fancy. It will often 
do very well sown with rye and other like crops, and 
grow up after they are cut, but they surely stunt the 
clover according to my experience. My advice would 
be to sow it to cow peas after all danger of frost is 
over, and the ground gets warm, and, when they are 
nearly ripe, plow the whole crop under. This will 
be in good time to try seeding to Crimson clover about 
next August, when this should be done. Turnip seed 
can also be sown at 
the same time, and if 
the turnips make a 
good crop, the largest 
can be pulled in the 
fall and sold or fed on 
the farm, leaving the 
smaller ones for winter 
protection to the clover. 
All can be plowed under 
in the spring before 
planting the trees, or, 
at least, strips where 
the rows are set, and 
the rest later. 
Use Clover Alone or 
with Rye. 
We consider that the 
best way to get the 
ground ready for an or¬ 
chard would be to put 
it in the best possible 
shape this spring, and 
if the climate and soil 
will permit it, sow it to 
clover without any 
other grain. If how¬ 
ever, the ground is 
bakey or washy and 
sloping enough to need 
something to protect 
the small clover plants, 
the best way would be 
to sow broadcast a little 
rye. We lay stress on 
sowing it broadcast and 
not drill it in. Do not 
sow more rye than is 
absolutely necessary to 
make the protection for 
the clover. We usually, 
when we wish a good 
stand of clover, and 
have no grain sown in 
the fall, merely sow the 
clover in the raw ground 
without other protec¬ 
tion, and it seems to 
take better that way 
than it does in any 
other, many times. We 
would, also, advise the 
using of some fertilizer 
that would be good for 
grass or grain to make 
the clover get a good 
root growth. We advise 
not to plow until he has 
to in the spring of 1898. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON 4 CO. 
ROSA MULTIFLORA JAPONICA. From a Photograph. Fig, 87. See Ruralisms, Page 195. 
