The record-union., 1895-03-01

trees and the following year away from
them; one year north and south, and the
next year east and west. 1t is somewhat
difficult to pillow away froLn large trees,
however, and with the cultivators or har-
rows now in use it is easy to work the
soil away by subsequent cultivation, al
lowing the furrow to be thrown toward
the tree each spring; but it is always adj
vlsable, upon fairly level ground. to pillow
the orchard in opposite directions in al
ternate years.
The difficulty of working close to the
trees has had the effect of encouraging
too high pruning. There is tendency
TO start tops too high rather than too
low, thereby exposing great length of
trunk to injuries of sun and wind, and
elevating the top beyond the reach of
plckers and OF sprays. For most trees
the ideal length of trunk is under four
1eet than above 1t, and implements now
in the market allow of this lower train
ing. Trees which have low tops, or
which hang low with fruit, can be reached
by separating the halves of any of the
double harrows by means of long
double-tree, SO that the halves, when ad
Justed, run from four to six feet from
each other. A cut-away harrow rugged
In this way will work away the back
burrows from under the trees during the
season. All cultivators or harrows with
=
discarded if orchards are worked when
the limbs bend low with fruit.
This labor OF working about trees is
greatly facilitated by the use of harnesses
which have no metal projections. There
should be no names which have elevated
tops, and the turrets on the back pads
should be simply leather loops, The back
pad itself should be devoid of wadding.
Harness OF the Sherwood type, with no
traces, but drawing by single chain be-
tween the horses, are excellent in orch
ards as they require no Whit1letrees.
1t will now be asked what crops may
be grown in the orchard. Grain and hay
never! Any hoed crops may be used for
the first few years; but it must be re-
membered that every crop completes with
the trees for food and moisture, and
whatever may befall the crop, the trees
should not be allowed to suffer. An open
space should be left about the tree free of
crops, at least several feet in extent. In
fact, this space should correspond with
the spread of the roots of the tree. Corn
and some other plants will appropriate
moisture more quickly than can the
trees. In orchards set less than twenty
feet apart the land should rarely be
cropped after the third year; but apple
orchards, if we'll cared for may be
cropped lightly for seven or eight years.
In no case should the grower expect TO
SSSNAN as 'IiuSh SiOp upoh 1duu
as upon other areas, and the drier the
land the less it should be cropped. When
the orchard comes into bearing age give
it the entire land. Thereafter the most
profitable crop to raise is cultivators
The growing of nursery stock in orch
ards-a frequent practice in Western
New Iork-should be discouraged. This
crop makes essentially the same demands
upon the land as the orchard itself, and
it does not allow of those variations In
cultivation and management which may
be essential to the varying seasons. 1t
may be true that enough fertilizer can be
placed upon the land TO replace the loss
OF plant food, but it is never done, and
probably never will be. And. more than
this, the nursery stock drinks up the
moisture which should be used by the
orchard. Nursery stock is known to be
particularly hard upon land, SO much so
that nurserymen never grow two crops
Of fruit tree stock in succession upon the
same area.-Kansas Farmer,