122 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Oft. Doc. 



Don-culture, and advised keeping orchards in grass and top-dressing 

 annually. Many now train their trees low, making it almost im- 

 possible to cultivate. The best apples I grow are on trees where 

 lower limbs rest on the ground. 



Sam'l C. Moon. — A^'here trees are so low there is no occasion to 

 cultivate, as no grass will grow. There is an orchard in my neigh- 

 borhood that has not been plowed in forty or fifty years. It has been 

 the practice of the owner to apply a cart-load of manure to each 

 tree every three or four years. The orchard is one of the best in 

 the vicinity. 



ft/ 



Mr. Snavely. — 1 apply all fertilizers in the fall, six months from 

 fruiting season.' The object is to have the late autumn rains wash 

 the plant food down, so as to keep the roots far as possible below 

 the surface and out of the reach of the plow and cultivator. 



Mr. Longsdorf. — I am not opposed to cultivation, but in seasons 

 of extreme drouth, like last, I am not sure it is best. Think mulch- 

 ing just as good. 



Wm. H. Moon. — I have always heard that Pennsylvania is a State 

 of great possibilities. The report of the General Fruit Committee 

 has proven that assertion. It has also proven that doctors disagree. 

 Some report Kielfer pears on the wane; others say it is desirable 

 and deserves extensive planting. Some report large crops of grajies, 

 others the contrary, but all agree that the Kietfer pear tree will 

 bear large crop of fruit. While I have heard many valuable and 

 interesting reports, this one has more points of interest than any 

 we have had for some time, and I congratulate the chairman on 

 his excellent paper. 



Mr. Peters. — Four years ago, on my father's farm, we planted over 

 100 York Imperial trees. After they were planted a year we con- 

 ceived the idea of drawing the roots from the surface. We dug a 

 circle about forty inches in diameter around each tree, about twenty- 

 three inches in depth. Into this, barnyard and hog manure were 

 placed, and the trees have made a good growth. Last year we 

 planted about seven acres more with one-year-old trees. There was 

 a hard-pan subsoil and holes were blown out with dynamite. The 

 holes were made very deep, manure put in bottom and tramped, 

 then more manure and earth, then we planted the trees. We hope 

 thus to draw down the roots, so that we can cultivate without de- 

 stroying them. 



CHESTNUT CULTURE. 



Topic No. 33. "What is the Outlook for Profit in Chestnut Cul- 

 ture?'' was next considered. 

 Mr. Rnrtram asked how to prevent the ravages of the chestnut 



