Semi-weekly herald., 1910-05-26
esses in the soil to greater activity.


liberates plant food already n the
soil Cover crops also 10 shis and
add more 10 The organic store at the
same time preventing loss of ayaila-
BILE liant material which wou'd ether
wise have lcached away. Bofh are in.
valuable in their places.
:Ilinus Is partially decomposed veg.
etable matter--not completely decayed
When vegetable matter forms humus,
or humus breaks down TO form still
simpler compounds. heat is liberated.
Whether pile of leaves Is burned or
allowed to rot. the same amount of
heat is eventually given off. Thus,
decaying organic matter in the soil
makes 1t warmer and drier in the
spring, and growth Will start more
readily and be faster throughout the
season. Humus makes the soil darker,
and by test 1t has been shown that
dark soil is warmer than the same
slil under like conditions but lighter
lii color Dark soil also holds the heat
longer.
When a country is in a wild stale
humus is supplied by dead leaves,
grass and other vegetation, most Of
which falls and rots where it grew,
but with modern methods of plowing
and clean cultivation, we burn out
the hnmus and at the same time do
away with the source OF supply. We
may supply this deficiency by applying
barnyard manure and commercial fer
tilizer, and by using cover crops. (We
might add thar millions of dollars
worth OF fertilizer is lost by the Ameri-
can people through careless handling
of manure. 1t should never be exposed
to sun and weather. Cover crops
are especially adapted to the best cul-
tural methods in orchards. The ideal
cultivation, we believe. is intensive
cleaner culture from early spring 10
June or July. depending on the sea
son; then seed TO the cover crop which
seems best adapted to your particular
orchard.
Cover crops may be divided into two
classes, those taking free nitrogen
from the air tclover, COW peas, etcJ
and those using only the nitrogen al
ready in the soil Rye and oats are
good examples of the latter, which
are used as catch crops where no more
nitrogen is desired They should be
used in pear orchards which are in
clined to make too rapid growth.
Catch crops" are necessary because
bacteria working in the soil, especial
liberating food in the form of nitrates
and minerals such as potash and phos-
phate are also continually changing
to soluble form. The nitrates, unless
used Immediately, are liable to be lost
by leaching. Some of the more or less
soluble minerals may be lost by wash
ing away in the drainage water; their
loss, however is not SO great as that
OF nitrogen. The growing orchard util
lies these materials during the first
part of the season, when growth Is
most rapid, but later, when growth
slackens. cover crop of some sort Is
necessary 10 use this food and get 1t in
form that can be carried over until
the next season without loss. Such
crops as clover, COW peas and vetch
are especially good. They not only
store up all available nitrogen in the
soil, but add more from the air, and
in the spring they decay readily Thus
they increase the value of crops and
extend the life and productive age of
the orchard.
During the past season in company
with Mr. Irvine. editor of the Fruit
Grower. visited the orchard regions
of Colorado. Utah. Idaho, Washington
Oregon and Montana. Generally our
western friends admitted that the,
knew very little about cover crops. an6
felt their need. Their soil, rich ir
minerals. Is often deficient in humus
This is one of the greatest problems
they have to meet and they should
give II far more attention
A cover crop on the ground through
out the winter not only prevents wash
ing. which is so disastrous, but holds
the winter SHOWS and lessons tn,
depth of alternate freezing and thaw
| ing. 1t also tends to delay growth IL
| the spring until after the killing frosts
In gathering the fruit in the fall, i
makes picking and hauling a cheaper
| and cleaner job.
The rapid growth induced by cult
| ,ation through the first of the season
is inclined to make the wood of tn,
new trees soft and tender. To checl
this growth and mature the wood TO
winter, the cover crop is practical.
necessary. Weeds or volunteer gras
might he allowed to fulfill the sam,
| purpose, but they do not add the SAM
fiber to the soil, and they add abso
lutely nothing in the way of nitrogen
from the air.
There are some forms of minera
plant food in the soil, not available I,
many cultivated plants. Even unde
the best conditions they have no powe