Aside from a rotation of fields, it is often advis able to lay out a rotation of crops in the orchards themselves when the trees are young. Such rota tion practice would reduce the great amount of tillage labor by keeping part of the area always in clover or other sod, would correct the faults of a continuously recurring treatment, would guard against neglect, and would allow of a somewhat definite plan of work for some years ahead. The rotation should be short and should contain the maximum of tilled crops. A three-year course might fit the conditions well, for it would be adapted to the varying early stages of orchards, and would correspond with normal strawberry rotations and even with the best practice in raspberries. One to four three-year courses could be run in orchards before the trees are large enough to interfere, depending on the land, the kind of fruit and the distance apart. A three-year course for young orchards should preferably have two tilled crops and one legume or sod crop ; as (1) potatoes, roots or truck-crops, (2) corn, (3) crimson clover or vetch in fall or spring ; or, again, as (1) corn, (2) cotton, (3) cowpea or velvet bean. Sometimes it may be allowable to run only one tilled crop, in which case the potatoes—wheat—red clover may be useful. Care must be taken to see that first attention is given the trees, and this should call for manure or fertilizers with one or more of the courses.
Rotation, between the fruit plantations them selves, may be very desirable in some cases. If one has a hundred-acre farm on which he wishes to make a specialty of peaches, he might set aside six fields of ten acres each, and set them in twelve year rotations or blocks, planting a new orchard every three years. In this way there would always be a new orchard coming into bearing, the grower could apply the experience of one orchard to the succeeding one, and he could prepare the land thoroughly in advance of each setting. This pre paring of the land is exceedingly important in most cases and is usually neglected. It often should include thorough under-drainage. The following display shows how this plan would work out. The heavy figures show orchards in bearing ; it will be seen that there are always three orchards in bear ing after the plan is in full working maturity. It is assumed that six years intervene between the plantings on the same ground. The letters a, b, c show how the elements in a three-course crop-rota tion would combine with the orchards, if it is assumed that it would be safe or desirable to crop the orchard lightly for the first three years. The blank or treeless years would be used in general field-crop practice. It must be understood that this plan is not recommended, but is given to illus trate the discussion and to suggest a line of study: Tillage.
In the great majority of cases, tillage for at least a part of the life of the orchard gives more satisfaction than continuous sod. This is because tillage aids in making plant-food usable and it helps to save the moisture and to keep down weeds. On
steep and rough lands, clean tillage may not be desirable, both because of its cost and the exposure of the surface to washing. In lands or regions that are naturally well supplied with moisture, tillage may not be needful. Like all other agricultural practice, tilling of orchards is a local question ; but the presumption is that tillage is needed, and exceptions must be explained. The fruit in well tilled orchards is likely to be later in maturing than in comparable untitled orchards, and to have a lower color ; this is indication of the effect of tillage in maintaining vegetative activity by keep ing up the supply of feed and moisture. The fruit grower should learn to regulate his tillage as carefully as he does the application of manure, in order to secure the maximum of benefit and the minimum of disadvantage.
The perfecting of many wide-sweep surface working tools has made the tilling of orchards comparatively simple and easy. The purpose of these tools is to maintain the surface mulch. When an orchard is well established, it is usually not necessary to plow deep, at least not if the original preparation has been good. Spring-plowing in bearing orchards may be necessary in order to break the soil and to make surface tillage possible, or to turn under a cover-crop ; but if the soil is naturally loose and there is no herbage to be cov ered, it may be unnecessary to invert the soil ; the surface-working tools may be set at work before the land becomes hard. Usually a spading-harrow or cutaway of some kind will first be needed, or, if the soil is crusted and weeds have got a start, a shallow-working gang-plow may be used ; thereafter, spring-tooth and spike-tooth harrows, smoothing-harrows and weeders may be employed. Fall-plowing is sometimes advisable, particularly on hard lands, that the weathering may aid in the breaking down of the soil ; in such case, the fur row-slice should better not be turned flat (at least not unless there is much herbage or manure on the land), but left more or less broken or on edge. The surface-working tools may be applied to this open land early in the spring before it hardens.
In the old days, orchards were mostly in sod. Fifteen years ago the importance of tillage began to be very strongly emphasized. This gospel has thrown into strong contrast the value of various kinds of sod- treatment for special cases. Sod treatment of orchards is now often spoken of as the "mulching system." There is no uniformity and little system in these practices, however. In some cases, the " system" is merely to leave the orchard in sod and to sell the hay ; in other cases, the sod is merely pastured ; in others, the grass is mown and allowed to decay on the ground ; again, not only is the grass allowed to lie but straw may be added and commercial fertilizers and manure applied. It is, therefore, impossible to discuss the mulch method without knowing just what the practice is. It is apparent that these most be local practices. Seine of them often give excellent results.