The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-01-15
Orchard Problems
Cultivation and Irrigation.

uS q VI CuC W ooAuO - JILL
the work done in pruning and train
ing the trees, is most important mat
ter. The first problem that will con-
front the grower at this stage of his
work will be whether he shall cult
yate his orchard or let it go without
cultivation. The answer Of the writer
is most mphatic-CULTIVAT The
purpose for which we should cultivate
the soil in raising any crop where Gull
tivation can be practiced is but poorly
understood by many farmers. The
writer was raised on farm and many
plowed corn. Had anyone asked him
why he plowed corn the answer would
have come quickly, "TO kill the
Weeds" If anyone had ventured the
suggestion that there were other ben
efits derived from cultivation we
should have regarded him as a dream
er-perhaps crazy. But we know bet
ter now; that is, some OF us do. In
fact. as the writer looks back on the
state of information prevalent a half
century ago, and Of course for ages be-
fore. he is constrained to believe that
weeds were a blessing to the farmers
then, and are so even yet, to a less
extent. Weeds do harm, OF course,
for they extract the fertility from the
soil, but their greatest harm comes
from their using up the moisture IN
the soil that is needed by the growing
crops, including, of course, the grow
ing trees. Some of our scientific men
have computed the amount OF moisture
that will be extracted from the SOIL
by an acre of weeds during one sum-
mer-and it is something astounding.
The trees may be robbed by this proc
ess of extraction. Where we irrigate
this robbery is to considerable eA-
tent overcome.
If there were no weeds we still
should cultivate, for in this way we
fine the soil, which is necessary to en-
able it to give up it's fertility; we
loosen it, so that to a certain extent
the air may circulate among it's par
ticles, very necessary thing fol
plant growth; and last, but not least,
we pulverize the surface, and this con-
serves the moisture by making dust
mulch.
This pulverizing the surface for the
conservation of the moisture is a very
important matter. Some years ago
the Stark Bros, of Louisiana, Mo-,
planted an orchard of nearly one hun
dred acres in Colorado, not far from
Denver. The trees were irrigated the
first year and it was their intention to
continue their irrigation, but the
water supply failed and left them with
their young orchard on their hands.
Many persons would have given up
the enterprise at this stage, but this
firm was made of Sterner stuff than
that. and with their characteristic
push they taught us most valuable
lesson. They substituted a thorough
system of soil pulverization in order,
by conservation of the moisture, to
make up for the deficiency of water.
They succeeded so we'll that when the
orchard was six years old it was well
laden with fruit. At this stage the
orchard was visited by H. e. Van
Deman, the noted pomologist, and
some of it's loaded trees were photo
graphed by him and the account of
his visit was written up and published
in one of the year-bOOks issued by
the department of agriculture.
The Stark Bros. stirred the surface
of the soil every week during the
summer, which furnished a dust
mulch, and in this way prevented the
evaporation of the moisture stored up
during the light rainfall of the winter.
This contains valuable hint. In
some sections of the country where
irrigation cannot be practiced the
fruit suffers during July and August
for lack of sufficient moisture. The
thorough pulverization of the surface
during the earlier part of the sum-
mer will SO conserve the moisture as
to tide the trees over this critical
period. The writer at farmers in
stitute recently in Whatcom county,
Washington, was asked If he would