An Apple Orchard Survey of Ontario County 205- 



Sod orchards pastured with hogs and sheep yield the highest returns. 

 Such orchards have a four-year average yield of 63 barrels per acre, with 

 an income of $122. In general, hogs seem a little more valuable in pas- 

 turing orchards than sheep. Cattle and horses are destructive. 



Fertilizers. — The chief fertilizer used is stable manure, which is used 

 by 76 per cent of the growers, either alone or in combination with com- 

 mercial fertilizer, green manure, or both. Commercial fertiHzers and 

 cover crops are not very generally used. 



Orchards that are not fertilized have a four-year average yield of 44 

 barrels per acre and an income of $71.54. The highest average income 

 occurs for orchards treated with stable manure and commercial fertilizer, 

 being $125.95. 



Stable manure applied at the rate of 10 to 15 loads per acre every year, 

 or 15 to 20 loads every other year results in high yields, and incomes of 

 about $147 per acre. 



Orchard pests and diseases. — The chief orchard pest reported is the 

 blister mite, which was found in 305 orchards. The codling moth and 

 tussock moth are the chief chewing insects reported. Of plant diseases, 

 canker and twig blight are most troublesome. 



Spraying. — Thirty-four per cent of the orchards are actually unsprayed, 

 and over half the orchards are essentially unsprayed. 



Bordeaux is the chief spray mixture used. Less than a third of the 

 orchardists are reported as using arsenical poisons. Only about 6 per cent 

 are using sprays such as lime and sulfur to combat sucking or scale insects. 



Unsprayed orchards yield 40.2 barrels per acre on the average for four 

 years, with an income of $67 .66. The orchards sprayed once are not much 

 higher in yield and income. The highest income is produced by the 

 orchards sprayed three times, which have an average income of $140.26. 



