State Convention—Success vs. Failure. 
443 
Mr. Plumb: Like some farmers do, in December, when it is frozen 
up. You want nature’s mulching. You take a lawn that is sheared 
frequently and dig down and you will find all the roots short—a 
short top has a short root, a long top has a long root. Shear your 
trees and the roots will be short; they will be small comparatively. 
That is a very important thing to keep in mind. 
Secretary Field: I would like to ask as to the benefits or in¬ 
juries that might arise from seeding down an orchard to clover or 
other grass, particularly prairie soils. 
Mr. Plumb: That is an important point. An orchard should be 
cultivated not for the sake of # the crop, but for the good of the trees. 
Every farmer should think that every tree in a little while is worth 
an acre of land. With that in view, the use of a hundredth part of 
an acre, that a tree occupies, is a very small thing; therefore, I say 
always keep that in mind, cultivate, and what little you reserve 
from the orchard, in the shape of grass or pasture, is of no conse¬ 
quence whatever. It is not worth mentioning. I do want farmers 
to stop this pasturing the orchard. The results are not apparent 
immediately. You think, if the sheep or horses don’t gnaw them, 
and the hogs don’t tear them up by the roots, it is all right; if 
they do, you think you can spread on a little manure, and cure the 
effect; but you can’t do it. The packing of the soil is one thing 
you want to avoid in an orchard. 
Mr. Anderson: Don’t that depend a good deal upon what kind 
of soil it is. On my soil I don’t think it would do. I mulch my 
trees. 
Mr. Plumb: Do you mulch outside the drip of the top? 
Mr. Anderson: I mulch according to the size of the tree. 
Mr. Plumb: Your feeding-roots are outside of the drip of the 
tops. 
Mr. Anderson: I strive to pasture my field every year with hogs. 
Secretary Field: You mean to state that the tree derives most 
of the nourishment for the production of fruit, and the growth of 
the tree outside of these six feet you spoke of. 
Mr. Plumb: That is it; when a farmer cultivates the area under 
the drip of the top, he thinks he is doing a good thing. I tell him, 
let that alone; cultivate outside. I wish to cite here the instance 
of the death of our native oaks. Every farmer knows that if he 
allows stock to stand around an oak tree, black-oak especially, it 
