Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-10-06
Orchards Cultivated or in Grass.

Our horticultural readers have undoubt-
edly observed that the question whether the
orchards will do better under the plow and
cultivator, or in grass has divided our horti-
cultural teachers for number Of years, and
that all of the intelligence and experience Of
the best orchardists of the country is not by
any means arrayed upon either one side.
While we have men of such extensive re-
search and large experience as the Barry's,
father and son, John j. Thomas and hosts of
others, advocating clean cultivation, we have,
on the other hand, such Investigators as
Thomas Meehan, DR.. Il. w. Sylvester ii. II.
Hooker, and many others, who favor leaving
the surface of the orchard, and the roots Of
the trees undisturbod by plow or coulter.
Both parties agree on one point, the me-
cessity of keeping up the fertility of the or
chard soil by liberal application ofmanure.
No intelligent fruit grower pretends that you
can gather from an orchard large and sue
cessive crops of fine fruit without keeping
the trees well supplied with proper food, but
while one class favors applying the food to
the surface trusting to natures operations
to convey it to the roots where needed, the
other class would work it into its proper
place by means Of plow, cultivator and har-
row.
The advocates of "in grass" culture claim
they more nearly follow natures method of
promoting the growth Of trees, keeping the
surface cool and moist by the mulching Of
grass and manure, encouraging the roots aud
rootlets to grow in the most congenial, nour-
ishing soil, namely, that within few inches
Of the surface, while they claim that plough
ing destroys many of the young, fbrous
roots, compelling others to 60 down into the
colder, less active lower soil and subsoil.
The advocates of clean culture contend
that manure wastes less intermixed with the
soil that by keeping the surface clean, no
plants are robbing the trees Of their proper
nutriment, while by keeping it mellow the
nourishing grasses and moisture of the atmos-
phere find ready entrance, and moreover that
the frequent working and stirring Of the soil
promotes its disintegration, releasing to the
growing roots, its plant food.
If we appeal to facts, we shall find that
many orchards under thorough cultivation
for many years have grown good successive
crops, and many under apparently as good
culture have borne only occasionally good
crops. We shall find that some orchards
that have yielded, annually, crop of grass
for many years, have borne annually or ben
nialy good crops of fruit also. We have a
small, family orchard of over a dozen vare
ties of apples, that was in grass when we pur'
chased it, ten years since, and has beer
moved every year since, the aftermath dying
on the land, and yet this year it is well ladeI
with fine fruit. We can not conclusively
settle the question by appeals to argument
or facts unless experiments shall be mad
more careful and exhausting but one thin
we are confident We can rely upon withou
fail, and that is, fruit trees must be fed l.
produce fine fruit. If they are deprived o
proper food so that they fail to make iai
annual growth of wood, they will soon ceas
to be productive.
How to keep up the fertility of orchard
at the least cost is, perhaps We may say, tn
most momentous question that confronts tn
orohardist, and one to which we purpose t
give further attention. n.-AmericaR RurG
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