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Show CULTIVATION OF THE TREES Task I Absolutely Necessary In Dry Farming Country Weede and -Grass Must Be Choked Out (fly NORMAN M. ROBS) When trees are planted in the dry-farm dry-farm country constant cultivation Is absolutely necessary until the topa of the trees grow together sufficiently to choke out all growth of weed and grass. The rainfall In the prairie districts dis-tricts Is so small that every mean must be employed to preserve what little soli moisture there I. Surface cultivation I the beat method of accomplishing ac-complishing this, aa It keep a loose covering of soil, which act a a mulch, retaining the moisture In this way. The single horse scuffler or cultivator Is the best implement for this purpose. The hoe Is of little use by Itself, except to cut off the larger weeds and for working close around the roots of the trees, as It doe not Mr the soil sufficiently unless a great deal of time Is spent on the work. The number of times it will be necessary nec-essary to go through a plantation depends de-pends a good deal on the sesson. After a heavy rain, when the ground Is dry enough, the cultivator should be always run through In order to prevent the formation of a crust After the third season cultivation should no longer be necesnary. In any case, cultivation ahould alway cease before the end of August each year ao that the tree will not be encouraged to grow too late In the rail, aa the early frosts would thin be liable to cut back a large portion of the new wood. Mulching with straw or manure la quite often done, but cannot be recommended rec-ommended unlesa it Is absolutely Impossible Im-possible to find time to cultivate. Clean atraw Is better than manure, as It take longer to decay, and weed seed do not o readily germinate in It Owing to the strong reflection from bright straw many recommend hay a belne the best for mulching. |