312 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



well as curu. It is pretty generally believed in New York that the 

 trees must be cultivated. 1 tbiuk when au orchard is planted it should 

 be cultivated for live or six years in order to develop strong wood, 

 and after this is done commence looking for the crop. The moment 

 you stop rapid wood growth then your crop begins. When you plant 

 a tree that begins bearing young, and which does not have a strong 

 body, in four or five years it is a dead tree. I am going to sow my 

 orchard down in clover or rye, three pecks to the acre. I will put 

 the pigs in there next spring and will keep it eaten down pretty well. 

 Before it begins to mature I will have it mowed down and throw it 

 back under the trees. I will plant rye next fall, and next spring clover. 

 I am inclined to believe that there is a great deal in cultivating your 

 trees. It protects the trees from the terribly cold winters and the 

 dry summers. 



Mr. Teas: I am satisfied that if the land under the trees is kept 

 thoroughly fine it answers the same purpose as mulch, and it is very 

 much cheaper, and you do not get the evil effect from it that you 

 often get from vegetation under the trees. I think it answers every 

 purpose without the evils of the mulch. This makes harbors for field 

 mice which will destroy the trees when you are not looking for it. 

 i think there are several disadvantages in rotting vegetation under 

 the trees. 



Mr. Smith: I should like to ask a question that is closely allied 

 to this subject. It has been stated here that many good varieties 

 overload, overbear. The question that I want to ask is, if anyone 

 here has had any experience in heading back the trees to prevent their 

 overbearing, the same as in peach trees. I know that in plums it pre- 

 vents the breaking down of the limbs and the disfigurement of the 

 trees. 



Mr. Ilobbs: The apple and the plum fruit so differently that you can 

 hardly compare them. You see the principle will not apply the same 

 to both trees because they fruit so differently. The Quince fruits 

 in the same way. I think this is not practical unless a considerable 

 amount of Avood is removed. When you remove a considerable amount 

 01 wood you remove a considerable amount of fruit bud. 



Prof. Troop: The Grimes Golden, for instance, bears fruit all through 

 the trees, while some varieties have the fruit on the ends of the limbs. 

 Probably these trees could be treated in this way, but the different 

 varieties of apples differ in their way of carrying fruit, and so every 

 variety will have to be treated differently. 



President Stevens: This is probably all the time that we can devote 

 to this subject, so we will have a paper by Mr. Teas on "The Catalpa." 



