The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1910-08-30
TO HOLD MOISTURE
More Narrowing and Less water
Gives Best Results.
BY Keeping Ground Free From Weeds
and Making Mulch Of Dry Earth
Natural Moisture Can Be
Conserved.

More narrowing and less water on
the land will produce the best results
In upland orchards. Thinning the
fruit to secure uniformity in size and
to prevent over-production. thus as
surfing crops yearly. is also essential
writes Prof. Cyrus l.. Smith, insu-
tute lecturer OF Eastern Washington,
in Colorado Fruit Grower. BY keeping
the ground free from weds and mar
rowing once a week ducing the grow
Ing season. thus making mulch OF
the dry surface earth. the natural
moisture can be conserved suffi ciently
to grow fruit that will command the
best markets.
When the season Is a favorable one
q great percentage of large apples
may be grown with little cultivation,
but the grower who neglects to cul-
uvate well every year will often fail
to secure marketable fruit during the
very seasons when prices are the
best. The most successful orchard
lists are those who give thorough cul-
uvation each and every year.
Last season was the dryest for
many years, and yet wherever the cul-
tivation was thorough and intelligent
the results were satisfactory. In fact,
the size and quality were without ex-
ceptiOn a fair index of the method
and the thoroughness of cultivation.
In one orchard 16 years old we Sc
cured more than 60 per cent. of four
tier apples of such varieties as Bald
win, Greening,. Spitzburg and Ben
Davis This orchard was plowed
early in April. The blowing was done
deep in the center of the rows, eight
TO ten inches, and four to five inches
close to the trees. The ground i'm
mediately around the trees was then
dug over with a mattock, then disked
crosswise of the blowing twice, then
run over with a clod crusher, then
narrowed. Afterward it was har-
rOwed every week from May / to
August Is, altogether making 10 cul-
tivations at an expense of $3.50 an
acre for man and team and two dol
lars for hand work. or total of $3.50
an acre.
While this might seem somewhat
more than justified the economy of
the continual cultivation, as in an
other orchard where all the conditions
were the same and the cultivation
was the same except one disking and
three borrowings were omitted, saving
$1.25 in expense, there was differ
ence of more than $50 an acre in the
value of the fruit. Another orchard
of the same age, the same varieties,
the same soil, was disked twice and
narrowed twice and produced only
ten per cent. of marketable fruit.
The soil from October to April
should be rough and loose to catch
and hold the moisture; from April to
October maintain continuously a fine
dust mulch over the entire surface
II this is done there will be no weeds,
nor any unnecessary loss of moisture.
Less than ten per cent of the or
chards are as we'll cultivated as they
should be-
When the soil inclines to run to-
1t lacks humus, if barnyard manure is
available it is the best and readiest
means of supplying the humus or or
ganic matter to the soil The best
method of applying this is by TOP
dressing during the winter season. If
the manure is not available use a
cover crop, preferably vetch and win
w l.
spring blowing can safely be delayed
until the first week in May. but not
later unless it should be a cold. wet
| season. Turn under the cover crop
good and deep and Immediately fol
low with disk twice or three times.
then harrow continuously every
week until August 15
When cover crop is to be used.
seed it at the last cultivation as near
to the middle of August as practi,
cable.
To secure fruit uniform in size. to
prevent overbearing and 10 obtain an.
nual crops, it is necessary to thin the
fruit radically. 1t is better to hire
some one to do this by the day or
hour. Few men have the time to thin
their own fruit as it ought to be done.
If the pruning has been properly done
and the fruit spurs are properly dis.
tributed over the entire tree. then
thinned so the apples will not touch
each other, there will be as manv
left as the tree ought to carry. The
fruit Will be larger. better matured
and much more uniform than when al
lowed to grow In clusters.
Success Of Drv