The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-04-01

water thus given off by large apple
tree in the course of one growing
season must amount to many tons.
Without this Transportation of food ma
terial by the use of water through the
roots and stems to the leaves the tree
would die of starvation, and If this
water is sparingly given the tree is
enfeebled and the size and quality OF
the fruit is impaired. Now, not so
much water is needed in the latter
part of the summer as in the fore part,
for the greatest draft is made on the
resources available for the tree at the
time when the cambium layer is form
ing. But there must be a good sup
ply of water at the time the fruit is
maturing and ripening or the fruit
will not attain proper size, the color
will be deficient and the quality will
be impaired. The water itself is not
the chief source Of nourishment, al
though hydrogen and oxygen are taken
directly from the water, which it is
we'll known consists of two parts OF
hydrogen to one part of oxygen. The
chief function of the water is to trans
port nitrogen and mineral salts taken
from the ground to the leaves, where
they meet the carbon from the air,
always present, and by the assistance
of sunlight and heat are formed into
carbohydrates and albuminOus COM
pounds, which have the power to both
build up the tree and to ripen its fruit.
If the water supply is impaired by
being taken up by grasses, weeds or
legumes, the tree must fail to bring
it's fruit to the best condition. If we
can supply additional moisture or the
rains come at the right time, then no
damage results. This we can do by
irrigation, but frequently the rain fails
at a critical time. This failure OF
rain can largely be obviated by con-
servation of moisture by cultivation.
This benefit derived from cultivation
cannot be secured if we wait till the
soil is dry, but by pulverizing the sur
face while there is yet plenty of moist
ure in the soil we can prevent too
rapid evaporation. A pulverized sur
face acts somewhat as a blanket in
checking evaporation. This same re-
suit may be accomplished by mulch
ing with straw or mown grass or
weeds. But in all cases the mulch
material must be put on while the
SOll Is udulp. IL IuO 10 hOPC
under the trees till it rots it adds
humus to the soil, and that, too, is an
important factor in vegetable life.
With these thoughts before us it
can be readily seen that I would not
grow perennials in our orchards in
Puget Sound or in the Willamette
Valley, even if they were legumes like
alfalfa and some kinds of clover, I'M
less it should be for the purpose of
cutting them in midsummer or be-
fore and using them for a mulch. The
non-leguminous plants such as tim
othy, redtop, bluegrass and other sim
liar grasses, l would not grow in my
orchard where l could not irrigate,
for besides their sapping the soil of
it's moisture at the critical period in
autumn, they make too close a sod.
This is remedied in some measure
by mulching and allowing the mulch
material to rot But / would much
prefer the legumes for such work.
Judging from what I know about
the Puget Sound country and the Will
lamette Valley and by reasoning about
the matter based on the facts and
conditions just set forth, l would COM
bine two methods. One is the Gull
tural method and the other is the
raising of annual legumes or those
known as winter ANNALS. BY winter
ANIMALS I mean those legumes that
are sown in the fall, September pref
erably, and that winter over and grow
to maturity by July first the follow
ing summer By moving these le-
gumes thus early we get a crop of
hay or some good mulch material, re-
store nitrogen to the soil and prevent
the sapping of it's moisture when the