Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1910-05-21
Orchard
! Cover Crops
Valuable Paper by VIM. P. Stark
Fruit Grower and Ex-Pres.
Missouri Bd. of Horticulture.
Copyright 1910 by Stark Bros.)

nlgnlY eSSentlal 10 the present sue
cess of the orchard, but to its future
sucGU the lack Of 1t may explain
failure.
The more we learn of cover crops,
the more we appreciate their funda
mental importance. We have Observ-
ed cover crops as used ia the peach or
chards Of Georgia and other southern
states, Of the Lake Shore country in
New York, Pennsylvania, of Michi-
gan. Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, etc.
We have carefully observed cover
crops throughout our own state-and
too Often the lack Of them in the Pa
ci6&Coast country and the Northwest
1t Us necessary that fruit growers
care for their orchards as they care for
other farm crops. An orchard takes
the fertility from the land. as do
wheat and corn, though not 10 the
same extent. Few farmers can name
crop that will give greater income
with less risk and less capital than an
orchard; however they must have a
little love. or at least respect, for
their trees, and look after them care
fully.
1t is common saying among Or
chardists that we do not get bumper
crops as in the old days when this was
a virgin country. To repeat such
crops. one absolute necessity is TO put
the soil in as near the fertile cOndi-
ton it was following the removal of
the forests. The mineral elements OF
the soil remain. but the humus has
been burned out" After this hum
us is gone it is harder for the plants
to use the minerals.
There are two ways to restore VAN
ishing5 fertility. One method is 10y
applying fertilizers. The so-callcd
complete" commercial fertilizer con-
tains three elements, nitrogen, potas-
sium aud phosphorus, which are most
commonly lacking in land that has
ceased TO produce. Commercial fer
tjlizers rightly used are profitable. but
are expensive. Barnyard manure is
cheaper fertilizer but more bulky. 1t
contains fair percentage of the three
elements. Both commercial fertil-
izers and barnyard manure are all
right in their place, but the supply is
limited. Many growers are gradually
reducing the ability of their orchards
TO bear. 1t is a question Of vital I'M
portance to the fruit grower. Cover
crops solve the problem. They are
economical aud consistent with the
best methods of farm management.
Glover, cow peas and other legumes
Indirectly take nitrogen from the air
by action of the bacteria living in the
root nodules.
The elements Of the soil can be
cassed under two heads: First, Min
eral Hlements-which are the residue
of de91omposed rock-pure clay is a
good example: it may not have occur
red to you in just this light, but prac-
tically all earthly soil came either di-
rectly or indirectly from the original
stone. The soil usually contains the
same minerals as the underlying
rocks, except large part of the more
soluble material has been washed out.
SecSnd, Humus-which is partially
decy4ed organic matter-leaf mold,
grass, weed, etc, that have lost their
original form but in which the pro-
cess of decay is incomplete. Peat aud
muck are good examples Of soils which
are practically all humus. Between
the two extremes Of pure clay and
muck, there are almost an infinite
number OF loanv and sandy soils.
The earthly portion Of the soil con-
tains practically all minerals necessary
for plant growth. In some cases pot
ash and phosphate may be lacking,
! out these are infrequent. On the
other hand, they are often in an un-
avalsb0e form, that is the soil may
contain large amount of each, but IL
is insoluble aud the plants cannot
make use of it. Clay lands are usually
rich in potash, while limestone lands
nearly always contain sufficient phos-
phate.
Humus supplies nitrogen to the soil
Most of the nitrogen is locked up ia
the humus which breaks down grad
uaIly. thus supplying the plants with
food and preventing excessive waste.
The soil has been called Natures
Workshop and Chemical Laboratory. F"
II Is a laboratory and the simplest
processes that 60 on there are far