The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-06-08

will consume vast amount of plant food
and it takes food to produce the fruit.
Planting Crops.
Now we might say a few words about
planting crops in young orchards. 1t IL
one of the strangest things in the world
to me that man wanting to engage in
| commercial apple growing will go to the
| expense of preparing his soil, plant his
| trees, and then go to work and plant a
crop among the trees that viii rob
| them of both plant food and moisture.
| Some light vine crops may be planted
| for the first few years in orchards, but
| grain crops never. Such vines as beans,
! peas, cucumbers, cantaloupes and toma-
| toes may be used as these all shade the
SOIL protect Il from the hot sun and
| thereby prevent the escape of nitrogen.
| But even in the use of these, a due al
| lowanee should be made for the plant
| food that they take up and this should be
restored to the soil in some form of
fertilizer.
| What about planting corn in orchards
as now so commonly practised? Never
| for me. If / want to grow corn pre-
pare for corn, ana If apple growing 1
prepare for apple growing Let us look
| at this matter for JUS a little, but first
| let me ask the reader II he knows any
| thing about the growing habits or require
| ments of a crop of corn. The corn plant
| is a rapid grower. a greedy plant and one
| that consumes a vast amount of both
| plant food and moisture. Oats are the
only crop which requires more moisture
to produce than corn Now a little reason
| ing, and we see that the apple tree when
| first set is very slow in taking hold and
| starting off to gro V and 1t grows very
| slowly the first season it is set. That is.
the growti. is slow compared to that Of
. the corn plant, so that the corn plant
| soon comes up and commences to take
from the soil food and moisture that the
| young tree should have. Now think OF
the amount of plant food and moistening
useG up in producing the corn crop and
! then think If this had all been used by
| tie trees how much more growth they
! would have put on and how much earlier
| they would have come into bearing fine
| fruit How much growth will young apple
/ trees make the first yea after being
planted where they are all smothered up
| In corn fields?
Damage Will Tell.
In some cases the damage the first year
may be so small as to be scarcely noticed,
yet 1t will tell in after years. Is Il not the
object in planting a commercial orchard
to want to reach me market as soon as
possible with the very finest of fruit'
and If so why plant any crop that Will
retard in the leas. the growth of the
4 trees? Frequently we have some one say:
! This may do for you to talk. but my
father and ny grandfather planted corn
| in their orchard: and they had fine apples
| and | am going to follow their example
! They forget that we are not farming
under the same conditions at all that our
| fathers did.
| remember that my father cut limbs
! from a fruit tree and grew fine fruit
trees by sticking these limbs In the
| ground Perhaps one in a hundred would
take root and grow. but what did grow
made fine bearing trees. What would
j the reader think of me now If he should
come along and find me planting limbs
/ cut firm an apple tree when we have so
many nurseries where trees with so many
/ find roots may be had cheap? When my
father started in apple growing nurseries
were few and far apart money scarce and
trees high. and then we had virgin soil
| full of both moisture and plant food.
and If few trees could be obtained from
cuttings he was that much ahead. Again
=! when all our stock was carried away by
soldiers in the war between the states
we were living then in a new country.
i The farms were new, the soils were very
/ fertile, and we had no horses left to Gull
tivate our crops. The weeds grew up
fast and large among the corn. Under
3 Sutn circumstances 1 saw my 1dlHtT SOW
/ his wheat among these weeds and corn
| stalks This wheat came up and made
4 a fair crop. But what would the reader
think of me If | were sowing wheat that
| way today? Yet there is as much good
reason for my doing so as there is for
the man to plant corn in his young or
/ chard simply because his father did.
+ Leave the corn and cotton out of the
orchard and plant such light vine crops
, as above mentioned.
Orchards may also be kept fertilized
by what is now known and practiced as
mulch system. Clovers or COW peas
are sown and kept mown down, the cut
tings left on the soil to rot. shade, pro-
tect and make the soil rich. This plan
is now largely practced in many of the
eastern apple growing sections. Where
this mulch system is used the orchard
should have the top dressing annually
/ of the concentrated fertilizer mentioned
above. also the lining once in three
Years. The mulch system should not
begin until the trees begin to bear.
Compost.
There is always vast amount of ma
terial going to waste on every farm and
H. every little town, which the farmers
! could use in making compost, which may
be made at a cost of IS per ton and is
worth as much as many concentrated fer
tlilzefS that sell FOR $ZO 10 YOU per ION.
Stable and barnyard manure and all de-
oayng vegetable matter on the farm con-
tains amonia. though In a small quantity.
Deeaying vegetable matter produces HUI
mus in the soil and should be kept from
exposure to the weather and in the early
spring spread on the land and worked in.
To make this compost, spread out the
manure and cover t with acid phosphate;
! then add layer of manure and another
layer of said phosphate and so en- until
! all the manure is used up A little kainit
in each layer of acid phosphate will supply
the potash. The acid phosphate not only
aids in the decomposition of the manure
pu tends to hold the ammonia. thus pre-
Nerting Its escape. In carting the COM
post cut through the pile; you are tnen
mixing the layers for distribution on the