Page:Oklahoma Arbor and Bird Day, Friday, March Twelfth, 1909.pdf/25

Rh greatest care will live and reach maturity. Much depends upon the after treatment. In many parts of the country cultivation is absolutely essential, and nearly everywhere a tree will thrive better and grow faster during its early years with cultivation than without. The purposes of cultivation are mainly to protect young trees from the encroachment of weeds and grass, to keep the soil in good physical condition, and to retain the moisture. Good cultivation is that which serves these purposes without injuring the trees. It does not necessarily include deep tillage. In fact, deep tillage may be positively injurious by breaking off the feeding roots, and is usually not necessary to loosen the soil. Very few soils are too hard for tree roots to penetrate if moisture is plentiful. The best way to retain moisture is by frequently stirring the soil to a depth of two or three inches. The longer cultivation is continued, the better will be the effect upon the trees, It should not cease in any case until they are well established and prepared to thrive without further attention.

Scattering or isolated trees cannot usually be cultivated except by occasionally spading up the earth within a circle of a few feet around them. This is necessary in order to keep the grass and weeds from crowding them and retarding their growth.

The difficulty in tilling a school-ground plantation will come during the vacation period. That is the busy time of the year, when crops must be tilled and harvest reaped. Unless the person in charge is very watchful the plantation is sure to suffer.

Although artificial watering is not recommended, it is necessary to keep the soil of the plantation moderately moist. Sometimes a great deal of moisture can be added by conducting to the plantation the water that drains from adjacent slopes. A small trench made to correspond with the contour lines of a hill or slope will often gather almost all the surface drainage water. In the Northwest, trees planted as snowbreaks a few rods from the north and west sides of the plantation will cause the drifts of snow to form just outside the plantation. The trees will thus be saved from the breakage, and a helpful supply of moisture will be added at the edge of the plantation.

The responsibility will devolve upon the teacher to inculcate a spirit of respect on the part of the pupils for the plantation. The best way to do this is to make them feel a responsibility for its success. If they feel a personal pride in it, there is little danger of their giving the trees rough usage by bending or breaking them.—Farmers' Bulletin No. 134, U. S. Department of Agriculture.