No. 6. • DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 481 



are also many cases where orchards are only thought to have 

 passed beyoud their period of usefulness and where a system of 

 orchard renewal can be practiced with great profit. Many things 

 said above bear on this question of making any orchard profitable, 

 but some more specific treatment is demanded by the refractory 

 cases. 



We may illustrate this by an example. Five years ago in south- 

 ern Pennsylvania a five-acre orchard of 37 year old York Imperials 

 was considered so unprofitable that three and one-half acres were 

 pulled out to use the ground for something better. It was con- 

 cluded, however, that the last acre and a half should be left, and 

 heroic measures taken to see whether it could be killed or cured. 

 On the acre and a half, however, there were trees missing, so that 

 actually but one and one-eighth acres of ground were covered by 

 the o4 trees of bearing age. The owner's own description of methods 

 and results are as follows: 



"Our old orchard of 54 York Imperials about 37 years old was 

 severely pruned the fall and winter of 1903. During the winter 

 the ground was heavily manured and the following spring was 

 plowed as shallow as possible, followed by an application of 10 to 15 

 pounds of potash fertilizer analyzing about 10 per cent, actual, and 

 the same of potash ICO sowed by hand in a circular band extending 

 from a circle say three feet from tree to another circle well outside 

 the line of drip from branches. This was followed by thorough 

 stirring with spring tooth harrow which was repeated at intervals 

 until about harvest time and then allowed to grow up, which it pro- 

 ceeded to do very rapidly. So much so in fact, that we found it 

 best to mow twice before picking time. This operation has been 

 repeated every year since, the otf year as well as the full year (in- 

 cluding spraying for scale and codling moth). Our account with 

 the orchard since 1903 is as follows: 



1903, before dehorning trees, gross returns for fruit, no 

 expense except pick and pack (|35), 1240 00 



1904, total expense |69.60, gross returns, 61 40 



1905, total expense, |194.56, gross returns 699 51 



1906, total expense, |73.08, gross returns, 115 00 



1907, total expense, .flS8.70, gross returns 884 00 



The first grade fruit for the several years w^as as follows: 

 1903, 87 barrels; 1905, 258 barrels; 1907, 289 barrels. 



Also for purpose of comparison the net returns seem to be: 



1903, 1205.00; 1904, minus |8.20; 1905, |504.95; 1906, f 41.92; 1907, 

 1695.30. 



Starting from the first full crop since trees recovered from heavy 

 pruning, we find that total net returns are ^1,242.17, or an annual 

 averag"e of |414.06. Counting the full crops only we have an average' 

 for the two years of .f594.02 per year. Understand these are all 

 net returns and are not guesses either, as we charged all labor at 

 full price we paid for it, including 30 cents per hour for supervision." 



31—6—1907. 



