New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 911 



soil and conditions are not well adapted to apple-growing, all of 

 the trees were slow in maturing. When a crop was promised, by a 

 good show of blossoms, untimely frosts or unseasonably cold weather 

 at blooming time destroyed the prospect, so that in the whole ten 

 years only scattering fruits were harvested on this plat. Here, 

 tree-growth alone must be depended on for information as to the 

 effect of the two methods; though this plat, by size, uniformity of 

 soil and conditions, and arrangement of varieties, was considered 

 most promising of all. 



On the B and C plats, on older trees, some apples have been pro- 

 duced every year, and in a few seasons the yields have been excel- 

 lent, for trees of this age. On these two plats, with four varieties, 

 the trees in sod have yielded more fruit in twenty-five instances, 

 those in tilled soil more in thirteen cases, while on two occasions 

 the trees of one variety produced the same amount on each plat. 

 With each variety the average annual yield of trees in sod was 

 greater than that of those under tillage; but the differences were 

 small, ranging from less than a peck with Northern Spy to a bushel 

 and three-quarters with Fameuse. 



The fruit on the tilled sections was not as well colored as on sod, 

 and was, for this reason, less desirable for market purposes, especially 

 for a local or semi-private trade such as Mr. Hitchings has developed. 

 The money value of this difference, however, would be hard to 

 fix; and when we consider that high color is most frequently an 

 index of lack of vigor in the trees bearing such fruit we must not 

 place an exaggerated value on this characteristic. 



No constant difference in size of fruits grown by the two methods 

 could be distinguished; but in many cases it was quite evident that 

 the increased quantity of apples from the trees in sod was due to 

 greater numbers rather than to larger size. 



Effect on ^ ie ^ ru ^ y^ e ^ s on two P^ts apparently show 



. p and ^ ne s °d-mulch method better, but tree growth 



folia indicates very little difference on these plats and 



color of foliage shows greater vigor in the tilled 

 trees. On Plat B, Fameuse trees in sod made an average gain in 

 tree diameter, during the ten years, of .89 inch more than those 

 under tillage, while Wealthy trees reversed this showing with an 

 increased gain of .73 inch for the tilled trees. On Plat C, Northern 

 Spy trees made almost identically the same gain under the two 

 methods. 



In no case, with these varieties on B and C, was the foliage better 

 on the trees in sod and was as good only early in the season or after 

 heavy rains. At all other times the tilled trees showed a darker 

 green in their foliage; and in four seasons when observations were 

 made they held the foliage longer in the fall. On A, with the younger 

 trees, these foliage differences were much more noticeable and at 



