Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1913-11-26

SOW a cover crop. Twenty pounds Of
hairy vetch and one bushel of rye
make a good cover crop for orchards
on poor soil This cover crop should
be allowed TO grow all the fall and be
turned under the following spring.
An orchard may be Intercepted
with cotton, corn or any other clean
cultivated crop. provided enough room
is left for the growth of the trees and
the inter-cropping is stopped as soon
as the orchard comes into bearing
Never allow small grain to mature in
an orchard. A cover crop should al
ways be sown. even If the orchard is
Intercepted.
A good fertilizer for a bearing orch
ard Is composed of 100 pounds OF cot
tonseed meal. 800 pounds of acid phos-
phate. 16 per cent. and 100 pounds OF
muriate Of potash. A bearing orchard
should receive 600 pounds broad
cast Of the above fertilizer Just before
the second cultivation in the spring
The fertilizer Is low in nitrogen, con
sequently this element must be made
up by the use Of leguminous cover
crops Of some kind. Don't, however.
use the COW pea in peach orchard on
sandy lands unless the variety Iron
Clad can be obtained.
Pruning should be practiced every
year. and do not put off for two or
three years at time and then the
trees severely pruned. Head low and
open up the tops. This pruning may
be done at any time, remembering,
however, that pruning in the winter
fosters wood production, while prun.
Ing In the summer tends to retard the
growth Of the plant. Weak and poor
growing trees should be heavily prun.
nongs. II pruned. should be worked
over before New Years. Grapes
should be prunned as soon after
Christmas as possible.
Spraying should also be practiced
In the orchard. Every orchard should
be sprayed with concentrated lime and
sulphur during the winter as a pre-.
ventative and a cure for San Jose
scale. peach leaf curl, and shot.hole
fungus. After the little fruits are set
they should also receive an applica.
tlon of self-boiled lime and sulphur
and arsenate OF lead, and In three
weeks or month later ii is well to
make an application OF selfboiled lime
and sulphur. On the grapes and small
fruits the early spray of concentrated
sme and sulphur can be substituted
by copper sulpbate,
A sharp lookout should be kept at
all times for the appearance of var
GUS insects and diseases. The trees
should be wormed once or twice
year; when tree is knocked over II
should be Immediately staked by
driving three stakes In the ground and
tying the tree to them SO II will not
move In the wind The tree should
also be scraped and the bark bound
trees should be tended to with soapy
water, II sometimes being necessary
70 split the bark with sharp pen.
knife.
The garden and orchard Is often
the most neglected portion OF the
farm owing to the fact that during the
busiest season of the year we give
more attention to the cotton. corn and
other farm crops. AS the staple crops
often take up practically all our time,
our families suffer for the lack OF
plenty Of good vegetables and fruits.
Every article that can be produced In
he garden and orchard is SO much |
saved In grocery bills and often In
ioctor bills. The first duty OF every
'armer is to supply his table with |
)lenty OF fresh and canned vegetables |
Ind fruits each day In the year.