Does Mulching Retard the Maturity of Fruits? 



It is a general opinion that a mulch or heavy cover placed upon the 

 soil about plants when it is frozen will retard flowering and the matur- 

 ing of fruit; yet the practice appears to be often unsatisfactory, and 

 there are reasons for supposing that the philosophy of the subject is 

 not commonly understood. The subject is one of increasing import- 

 ance, for every effort must be made to reach the market when there 

 is least competition from other sources, and, in New York, at least, 

 this competition comes chiefly from early products, produced in States 

 to the southward. It is also essential that every means be used to 

 escape the late spring frosts which kill the flowers. Careful experi- 

 ments upon the effects of mulches were made at this Station this year, 

 to the rehearsal of which I also append some general considerations 

 and the opinions of various fruit-growers who have had explicit 

 experience with the practice. 



The last winter was severe at Ithaca. The ground froze deep in 

 December, and the frost did not leave it until the middle of March. 

 Upon the 28th of February, 1893, the snow being well settled and a 

 foot and more deep in the open fields, heavy mulches, of coarse manure 

 and litter from horse-stables, were placed about apples, almonds, buf- 

 faloberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, grapes, 

 juneberries, peaches and quinces; and strawberries were mulched later. 

 Observations were also made upon roses which were mulched in the 

 fall for winter protection. 



The apples and other tree-fruits comprised trees which were set in 

 the spring of 1889. Half of a large wagon-load of mulch was placed 

 about each tree, covering the snow deep for a distance of three feet 

 or more in all directions. The small fruits were mulched heavily to 

 the middle of the rows, or three and a half to four feet in each direc- 

 tion. A heavy wagon-load of mulch was sufficient to cover about 

 ten feet of row. On the 29th of March, these mulches were examined, 

 • and, although the frost had left the fields fully ten days before, 

 the earth under the cover was still solidly frozen and from six to 



