126 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Ques. How large a surface does your mulch cover? 



Prof. Stewart: We attempt to keep it out over the majority 

 of the root area — moving it out as the roots extend. 



Ques. Will you tell us again in detail how that mulch is 

 applied and how expensive it is? 



Prof. Stewart : In a bearing orchard we attempt to apply 

 about three tons of vegetation annually, to maintain the mulch, 

 besides what is grown naturally in the orchard. Now in some 

 cases that amount of mulch is out of the question, as you simply 

 cannot obtain that amount of vegetation. But any kind of vege- 

 tation will do. We use buckwheat straw, swamp hay and any 

 kind of damaged straw we can get hold of. You might use 

 potato tops, or anything of that general sort, or you might grow 

 a lot of mulching material by the use of some of the coarser 

 millets, on relatively moist land that would be of little use for 

 anything else. 



Ques. What* was the condition of the fertility before the 

 operation ? 



Prof. Stewart : Well, it was rather poor in this field. The 

 fertility in this soil was quite low. So we expected the addition 

 of fertilization would be of value, but as a matter of fact it was 

 much overshadowed in importance by the moisture. Moisture 

 is of much more importance to young trees than the addition of 

 plant food. 



Remark : The tree needs its moisture in the growing season, 

 and probably that cultivated plot had lots of moisture while the 

 cultivation was going on. In September the growing of the 

 apple tree is done. W'hat little growth it makes then is the 

 ripening up of fruit buds. 



Prof. Stewart : Yes, but the point was this, — that the growth 

 of the tilled trees has been regularly checked much earlier in 

 the season than the growth of the mulched trees, with the net 

 result that the latter trees are now a fourth to a third larger. 

 In your climate you might have to lighten up the mulch or do 

 something else that w^ould be dififerent, though it is usually the 

 dry tree that is injured by winter, rather than the one that is 

 plentifully supplied with moisture. We want our young trees 

 to continue growing. We want to get a tree in as few years as 

 possible that will be ready to bear fruit. We don't want to get 



