New Yoek Ageicultueal Expeeiment Station. 539 



made imperfect by insects, fungi or other injuries. Attention, then, 

 is especially directed to the columns of total yields and still 

 more especially to the column showing the difference between the 

 total yields of the sodded and tilled plats. 



Taking, then, the differences in total yield as the best measure 

 of the two methods of treatment, we have no difficulty in coming 

 to a conclusion as to whether sod or tillage is better for the apple. 

 A summary of the figures speaks eloquently for tillage. Thus, 

 during the ten years of this experiment the tilled trees have pro- 

 duced nearly twice as much fruit as those in sod ; the bearing capacity 

 of the tilled trees the last five years was greater by 450 barrels than 

 the first five, whereas during the second five years the sodded trees 

 bore 33 barrels less than in the first period — showing that apple 

 trees in sod cannot hold their own but fall behind. Sod is not only 

 less beneficial than tillage but it is positively harmful. 



The showing for tillage, of course, would have been still better 

 had not Plats 5 and 6 in the sodded section received applications of 

 nitrate of soda which increased the yield, as shown in Table VI. 



SIZE, COLOE, MATUEITY AND QUALITY OF FEUIT. 



Size. — The size of Baldwin apples is important only as it has 

 a bearing on the yield, for the fruits of this variety are large enough, 

 as grown either in sod or under tillage, to be acceptable in the 

 markets. But the yield in fruit, of course, is greatly increased by 

 increase in size, and thus this character becomes important. 



Data taken in the first five-year period, published in Bulletin 

 No. 314 (page 97) show that the tilled apples are nearly one-third 

 larger than those grown under sod — a very telling advantage in 

 crop production. Size alone considered, if the 5-7 ratio of bigness 

 holds for the whole crop, the proportion of culls and seconds is much 

 larger in the sodded than in the tilled plat. Since the yield of the 

 tilled trees is nearly double that of those in sod the number of fruits 

 must be greater on tilled than on sodded trees. To those who have 

 been in the orchard in harvest time, however, figures are unnecessary 

 to show that tillage gives more and larger apples — in no other way 

 is the tale of the deleteriousness of the sod told so strikingly as to 

 the eye at picking time when the size and number of fruits are com- 

 pared. Plate XL VII shows the type and gives an idea of the size 

 of the apples grown under tillage. 



