The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-05-22
CultiratIng the Orchard.

| among farmers concerning the best way
| of managing an orchard. Nearly all
agree that at first-during the first three
| or four years-the orchard should be
cultivated that is, some crops should
| be planted which would in some meas
ure keep the soil stirred, whether the
crop be corn, oats, wheat or potatoes.
Rye and corn are hardly the best for
the first year, especially for very
Young orchard where the trees are
small; and again with cultivated
crop, ike corn or potatoes, there is al
ways more or less risk of damaging the
trees with the chains, single-tree or
pillow. Some plant in potatoes and
then cover with straw, but so far as my
experience goes this is very poor
plan.
/ had neighbor once in Illinois who
nearly ruined q fine young orchard Of
fruit set out that spring. The soil was
first well plowed and put in good con-
dition before the trees were set out.
Later in the spring the whole was fur
rowed off in rows three feet apart, one
way, running the pillow as close to the
trees as possible. Then the whole plot
was planted in potatoes, in drills, the
hills eighteen inches apart. After they
had sprouted well, or in about ten days,
the whole was covered with straw, from
twelve to eighteen inches apart. The
orchard had been set out near his house
and barn buildings. The trees seemed
to do first-rate during the summer, but
late in the fall, when the potatoes were
dug. the trees showed the effect, as
fully four-fifths of them were ruined by
the mice. They had burrowed under
the straw and had stayed all the time,
living on the potatoes and the bark of
the young trees. Although a fine crop
of potatoes was raised, yet the damage
10 the orchard was greater than the
profit on the potatoes.
In two or three instances | have no.
ticed crop of vines such as watermel-
ons. pumpkins, etc., raised in a young
orchard to good profit, and without
damaging it. Oats or sweet corn are
good crops, as neither occupy the land
for any considerable length OF time, and
yet long enough to keep down the
greater part of the weeds.
The usual practice is to plant to some
crop for two or three years, and then
SOW to grass. This plan is a very good
one if in following it out we do not neg
| lect the orchard. Ii we want to secure
| two crops in this way from the same
land in one year, we must care for it in
such manner that the land will be
| able to do this, and the only way to ac-
comulish the result we seek is to ma
| uure.
A good top dressing should be APP
| piled if possible every fall; light dress
ing of well-rotted manure spread evenly
all over the surface-that, too, without
any Jumps to damage the grass, will
| prove better and give more profitable
results than a heavy dressing given
every three or four years in such way
as to damage the grass.
| The trees should have the soil for q
considerable distance around the trunk
stirred up and good fertilizers applied;
for this purpose wood ashes unleached
are very valuable. The worst objection
to seeding down an orchards the tend
ency TO let it take care of itself, after
a good stand of grass is obtained.
know of an old orchard that had been
| neglected until it was worse than I'M
| profitable, it was an expense. The
owner first plowed up the whole plat as
well as he could, and then gave heavy
| application of manure early in the win
ter; this was spread evenly, not all
around the trunks of the trees but all
over the ground. Twice during the
winter the plat was we'll narrowed, so
as to incorporate the manure into the
soil; early in the spring, as soon as the
soil could be worked well, the whole
was plowed again, narrowed as fine as
| possible, then rolled and seeded to
| clover. Since then the owner has real
lied four fine crops of apples, and has a
tip-top clover pasture besides in which
he keeps his sheep or hogs.
] know of another orchard-and it is
good one-that the owner aeknowl-
edges has paid him better than any
| plat on the farm. He manages it in
| this way: after the orchard became es-
tablished he plowed the land in strips,
but only plowed between the trees,
never running nearer than four feet on
either side of trees; that is, he left a
strip about eight feet wide one way of
the orchard that was left unplowed.
Potatoes were planted and covered with
straw; in the fall the straw was piled in
long rows opposite to the ground plowed
and planted the year before, and the
potatoes dug the next spring. This soil
was plowed cross ways, and in the same
manner as before. and planted to
potatoes. This old straw was used to
cover again. The next fall the straw
was thrown off the same as before, and
the potatoes dug; after this the ground
was well plowed, and at each round of
the pillow the burrows were filed with
the straw, and then covered up the
next round. During the twelve years
the orchard has been treated in this
way, but two applications of other ma
ure-rotted manure from the stable
have been applied. The rotting straw
has been of considerable benefit.
The fertility of the soil has been kept
up, fair crop of potatoes raised. and
the owner, of course, thinks it an ex-
cellent plan. One thing is certain, we
must enrich the soil if we expect an
orchard to prove profitable. The idea
that an orchard after it once gets started
will take care of itself is decidedly
mistaken one, and if we expect to raise