68 Third Annual Report 



vitality of the tree the sod may be all right, (b) Disadvantages. 

 Some of the disadvantages are that it takes more manure to 

 maintain the fertility than with tillage ; the growing grass uses 

 up moisture just when the trees need it most. The cover crop 

 will in part serve in the same manner as the sod. 



It is difficult to determine what method of treatment is 

 best, because of the fact that it takes years before any results 

 are reached. No treatment is good unless it looks out for the 

 future of the orchard. 



Methods of Tillage. Sometimes it is advisable to plow the 

 orchard in the fall to save work in the spring. Early spring 

 plowing is more desirable because the cover crop is left to hold 

 snow during the winter, and thus prevent freezing of the roots. 

 The ideal method is early spring plowing, followed by clean 

 tillage till about the first of July, when the cover crop may be 

 sown. This will furnish the so often needed humus. 



Treatment of Sod Orchards. There are three general meth- 

 ods of treating sod orchards, viz. — that of pasturing by farm 

 animals ; by removing the hay crop ; and by cutting grass and 

 using it as a mulch, (i) Pasturing. The animals»ordinarily 

 used for this purpose are horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. Pastur- 

 ing with horses or cattle is very unwise, because such animals 

 will eat the foliage and tender shoots from the lower limbs, and 

 in various other ways more or less damage the trees. Pasturing 

 with sheep does no particular good or harm, although the manure 

 dropped by them is of some value. Pasturing with hogs is the 

 best treatment, except plowing under, that can be given sod in 

 the orchard. Hogs receive nearly all their food from outside, 

 and so bring plant food into the orchard. By their rooting they 

 prevent the formation of a tough sod. An investigation of a 

 considerable number of the sod orchards of Wayne County gave 

 the following results : 



Treatment No. Orchards. Acres. Average Yield. 



Pastured with hogs 22 I05>^ 271 bush. 



Pastured with sheep 15 232 216 



Pastured with cattle 54 392 I59 " 



Sod, not pastured 47 256^^ 185 " 



These figures show an average yield of 75 bushels per acre 

 in orchards pastured with hogs over orchards that were not pas- 

 tured at all. It also shows that cattle were the most harmful 

 farm animals that can be put into an orchard. 



The custom of removing hay from the orchard is nearly as 

 bad as pasturing with cattle. The hay crop removes the plant 

 food and moisture from the soil just at the time that the trees 

 most need it to make their growth, 



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