136 DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 



this operation. It is a double-acting pump and is geared from a hind wheel 

 of the wagon. A rough platform ^as made for the wagon, and upon this a 

 kerosene barrel, with the pump attached, was securely fastened. One man 

 drove and one handled the hose, which is about ten feet long. One side of a 

 row can be sprayed at a time, and if the wind is right there need be little 

 inconvenience about the work. We experienced some diflBculty in getting 

 the motion right, but it was finally adjusted so as to be perfectly satisfactory. 

 The motion must be tolerably rapid so that the team shall not need to hurry 

 by a tree too quickly. The hose nozzle which came with the pump — the 

 " Boss " nozzle — we found to be almost worthless, as it did not spread the 

 stream well. A flattened nozzle is much more satisfactory. We also felt the 

 need of a handy and rapid shut-off, in the case of vacant places in the 

 orchard. This we supplied. Otherwise the machine was entirely satisfactory. 

 It has an attachment which constantly agitates the water in the barrel, keep- 

 ing the Paris green in suspension. There are many hand force-pumps which 

 can be procured cheaply, and which will answer all the purposes of this 

 pump for small orchards. We shall endeavor to use this pump for spraying 

 potatoes. We used a half-pound of Paris green to a kerosene barrel of water. 

 In one instance we used three-fourths of a pound, but the liquid injured the 

 foliage. 



The apple industry is undoubtedly diminishing in many parts of the State. 

 The old orchards are beginning to fail and new ones are not being set to any 

 extent. Although prices for apples have been low for the last few years, there 

 is every reason to believe that an orchard of moderate extent if intelligently 

 managed, will add a reliable source of income to the general farmer. There 

 are hundreds of orchards throughout the State which are not bearing but 

 which could be brought into fruitfulness for a number of years by vigorous 

 culture. There is no doubt but that judicious pruning, good tillage and lib- 

 eral manuring will maintain or restore the fertility of most orchards. Some 

 orchards are now, of course, too old to rejuvenate. There may be danger in 

 vigorous orchards of carrying the cultivation so far that nearly all the ener- 

 gies of the trees will be directed to the production of wood. The grower 

 must determine the culture which shall meet his requirements. It is true 

 that in the great majority of cases, however, the culture is inadequate. 

 Barn-yard manure, when it can be spared, is valuable for the bearing 

 orchard. 



Permanent sod is an injury to the orchard. This has been proved in the 

 •experience of nearly every successful orchardist. It is forcibly illustrated in 

 ithe instance of the old College orchard. In the earlier experiments conducted 

 by Dr. Beal the same fact was emphasized. For some years he kept a part 

 of the trees in sod, others were cultivated thoroughly, while still others were 

 cultivated at varying distances from the body of the tree. Even as early as 

 1874 he found that ''trees in grass made less growth, looked yellow in foli- 

 age, and bore smaller fruit and apparently less of it." In 1875 he observed 

 that *' the evidences look more and more strongly every year against the pro- 

 priety of leaving trees, in our section, in grass. They have stood the severe 

 winters no better; they have borne no better; the apples are smaller ; the 

 trees grow more slowly ; a greater proportion of trees have died than of those 

 cultivated each year. So marked have been the results that we have plowed 

 up about half that part of the orchard which was left in grass." 



IX. Miscellaneous Notes.— 1. Bud Variation. — A bud-varietv is a 



