378 ANxNUAL UlOl'ORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Just as soon as spiayinu; is conipletod wo start on our cultiva- 

 tion. This year we expect to jj^reatlv incroase our slock and run a 

 separate crew of cultivators and sprayers, Tor cultivaliug really 

 should be started when spraying starts, if the soil is in condition, 

 and to get perfect apples it reijuires at least three spiayings. Pre- 

 vious 1o this, one force of teams have done the work, as the amount 

 of fruit has ii«»t Juslitied so many sprayings. 



HORSES VS. MULES 



The first thing of importance in cultivation, and in fact all orchard 

 work where stock is required, is to select the animal to do the work, 

 and we liud the good mule our best friend in that respect. 



Emphasis on the good, for usually when you sjjeak of a good mule 

 people laugh. A great many people do not know a mule only as a 

 kicker, balker, and an animal with all sorts of bad faults, but let 

 me tell you we have a lot of good big mules that have no tricks and 

 beat the horse at every stage of the game. 



We started with big horses and are replacing with big mules, 

 our experience with them prove these advantages. 



They eat less feed, they do almost twice the work on hot summer 

 days. A man can kill a horse in summer on a hot day, but the 

 mule can kill the man. They will stand rough treatment by indif- 

 ferent drivers just like a goat in getting over rough rock^— breaks 

 and new grounds, and are just as good on the road. These qualities 

 are what a fruit grower wants, and a good hig initle will fill the 

 bill. 



SPRAYING FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE APPLE 



The codling moth is one of the most serious insect pests the 

 fruit grower must combat. Data collected by the Government and 

 State Experiment Stations have found that from forty to sixty per 

 cent, of the annual yield is injured by the codling moth, which 

 makes the fruit unfit for a market, and some almost worthless for 

 home use. While a large number of up-to-date orchardists do 

 spray for the i)est, a vast majority do not aj)preciate tlie extent of 

 the injury it causes. 



The first spraying for the codling moth should be just as soon 

 as the petals begin falling and before the lobes of the calyx draw 

 together. This period of time is about ten days. Have a good 

 mouthful of ])oison there when the larvae attempts to enter the 

 apple. 



CULTIVATION 



On account of the location of the Tonoloway orchards, on such 

 hilly and rolling land, the practice of cultivation will need to be 

 modified because they cannot be handled like an orchard on level 

 ground. In hilly or mountainous orchards clean cultivation can- 

 not be safely adopted, on account of the danger of serious washing 

 away of soil, unless furrows are plowed folloAving the contour of 

 the land, to check this washing. 



We plow strips wide enough to cultivate with a harrow on each 

 side of the tree, along the rows, in the spring and cultivate until 



