THOROUGH CULTURE SHOULD FOLLOW THOROUGH PREPARATION. HOED CROPS RECOMMENDED. NO WHITE STRAW CROPS, NOR GRASSES ALLOWED. HOW LONG SHALL WE CULTIVATE THE ORCHARD? LIMITS. THE SPADE AND FORK, AND MULCHING SUBSTITUTED. HORSE CULTIVATORS NECESSARY IN LARGE ORCHARDS. THESE SHOULD NOT BE DEEP TILLERS, BUT SHALLOW, TO AVOID DISTURBING THE ROOTS. SEEDING WITH CLOVER. MULCHING IMPRACTICABLE ON A LARGE SCALE. CLOVER MULCH. THE MELLOW EARTH AS A MULCH. PASTURING AN ORCHARD. OBJECTIONS. DAMAGE DONE BY HORSES AND MULES. BY CATTLE, BY GOATS. SHEEP. THEIR ADVANTAGES. SWINE AND POULTRY MAY BE ADMITTED. HOW THEY MAY BE USEFUL. DESTRUCTION OF INSECTS. POULTRY AND CURCULIO. In a previous chapter, reference has been made to the necessity of thorough cultivation of the soil among young trees; but the importance of the proper attention to orchard culture is so great, that it deserves separate consideration. The thorough preparation of the soil before committing the roots of our trees to its embraces, which was fully impressed upon the orchardist, might have induced some to think that this was to be sufficient for them; but it ought rather to be inferred that any crop for which these preliminary labors were recommended, should receive continuous attentions of a similar character. It is with the desire that these views should obtain, and to indicate and specify, some of the most suitable modes of procedure, that the following remarks are presented in this place. If the ground, which has been appropriated to the orchard, be also occupied as farming land, as is usually done for a few years after planting, while the trees are small, it should be exclusively devoted to hoed crops; by which is meant those that require constant cultivation and stirring of the soil. Indian corn is a favorite on account of the thorough culture which is bestowed upon it, but there are some objectors to its use; by such it is considered too rank a grower; it is thought to absorb too much of the moisture of the soil, and too greatly to over-shadow the young trees if they be so small as has been recommended under the head of _Selection and Planting_. To this objection, however, it is urged by others that the partial shade during the latter part of summer is a benefit rather than an injury. If the stalks be left standing upon the ground during the winter, they modify the force of the winds, and may even be of benefit, by the protection they furnish to the stems of the young trees; and when they fall to the ground, with their abundant foliage, these materials constitute a winter mulching of considerable value. Even if the fodder has been cut up, as is usually done by prudent farmers, the shocks scattered through the fields must exercise a considerable protecting influence.