Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-03-16

Basing its conclusions on orchard sur
veys in Wayne and Orleans Counties, N
Y, Cornell Agricultural College experts
have reached the conclusion that where
ever possible an orchard should be cul
tivated to produce the best results; and
they recommend the following method
of tillage:
Cultivation should begin as early a.
possible in the spring. Plough the or
chard shallow, turning the burrows to-
ward the rows. Cut the sod, il neces
sary, with disk; then harrow with q
spring tooth. Cultivate thoroughly about
every two weeks with spring tooth Ol
other suitable instrument until July /
Cultivate close to the trees, but be care.
full not to bark them. Don't cultivate
after July l. About the middle or lat
ter part of July plant some cover crop,
which at harvesting time will have made
sufficient growth to form compact mat
on the ground. The kinds of cover
crops best suited for orchard work are
mammoth clover, vetch and crimson
clover of the leguminous plants, and
buckwheat, rye and oats of the non-
leguminous.
Where cultivation would not be prac-
ticable, as ON hillside too steep to till,
the orchard should be either pastured or
mulched. In the two counties named it
has been found that hogs are the best
animals for pasturing an orchard. Hogs
do considerable roofing, and hog past
ured orchard is practically cultivated
orchard. Then hogs are fed mostly out
side of the orchard and the manure
dropped is a constant addition TO the
plant food in the soil. Hogs also eat
the wormy apples which drop early, and
thus great many of the worms are de
stroyed. Sheep come next to hogs.
Cattle and horses should never be allow
ed to run in the orchard. They are
worse than nothing; they browse the
branches as high as they can reach, and
often break and bark the larger limbs.
There is considerable discussion at
the present time regarding the beneficial
results of mulching. The method of
mulching consists in cutting the grass
and allowing it to decay as it falls.
Never throw it around the trees, and
don't practise mulching where cultiva-
tion is practicable and possible.
OF course, every orchard requires
some fertilizing to keep it up to the
highest point of profitable production.
A two-year average yield of the fertiliz-
ed apple orchards in Wayne gives fifty
FIVE bushels more an acre than the un-
fertilized. Barnyard manure, 1t Is claim
ed, is the best all around fertilizer, but
should not be used too often or in too
great quantities. The best results are
obtained when it is used alternately with
commercial fertilizers, barnyard ma
nure, for example, being used one year
and commercial fertilizer the follow
ing. From five to ten tons an acre is a
good dressing. 1t should be applied
early in the spring, before growth starts
and while the ground is still hard
enough to drive on, and should be
spread evenly over the whole surface,
not hesped beneath the trees.
A commercial fertilizer for the or
chard should be rich in potash and phos-
phoric acid, the barnyard manure and
cover crops supplying all the needed
nitrogen. Muriate of potash is the best
form of that mineral to apply, and two
hundred pounds an acre is good dress
ing. Phosphoric acid is obtained in the
form of high grade super-phosphste and
the bone compound. Two hundred
pounds of ground bone and one hundred
pounds of South Carolina rock phos-
plate, in connection with muriate Of
potash, form a good commercial fertil-
izer for the orchard. And once in five
years about twenty five bushels of lime
an acre may be applied.-Tribune Farm