FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT. 11 



years and we must, for this reason, conserve the fertility of the soil. 

 We can burn it up but this is not what we should do if we want to get 

 out of the soil, in our trees, the profits we should have for our labor. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Bassett — Will you please state your varieties? 



Mr. Hall— This orchard I speak of is Northern Spies and I will say 

 that it is nearly the only apple I know anything about, and I wish 

 I had never known any other apple than the Northern Spy. It is good 

 enough for me. 



A Member — Over how much space do your trees shade the ground? 



Mr. Hall — Our trees are set forty feet apart and they are twenty- 

 one years old, and they have just begun closing up the angles. They 

 cover at the present time about twenty-five feet to each tree. However, 

 we have some trees that my father set in the old orchard that I think 

 have a breadth of fifty feet. I have taken from one of these trees 

 this year fifty-five bushels of apples, and the limbs were not broken 

 down. 



The Chairman — According to the program, Mr. E. J. Overton of 

 Bangor is to lead in the discussion of this question, and, after he is 

 through, then you may fire in as many questions as you wish and 

 they will no doubt take care of them for you in a satisfactory manner. 



Mr. Overton — Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen — The cover crop 

 is undoubtedly one of our best means of feeding the apple orchard. 

 Nature abhors barrenness and makes every effort to cover up the bare 

 spots; so I am in favor of the cover crop to this extent that I would 

 cover all the ground all the while with as dense and compact a cover- 

 ing as I could produce; and in my estimation there is no cover that is 

 better than June grass and with plenty of mulch around the trees. 

 Sixteen years ago I planted an apple orchard on the intensive plan. 

 This orchard was planted on a clover sod, turned under the previous 

 year. The trees were set twenty feet apart for a permanent orchard and 

 crops were grown among these trees for three years. Then it was seed- 

 ed down to clover with a mixture of Alsike and timothy. The seeding 

 was done in the spring of 1899. I got a very good growth the first 

 year, which was cut and left upon the ground around the trees. The 

 next year we had a very fine growth of clover, around two tons to 

 the acre. This was also left upon the ground and part put around the 

 trees as mulch. After that the timothy was more in evidence which 

 made a very vigorous growth from the feeding of the previous crops 

 that had gone back to the soil. The result of this method, the sod mulch 

 method, was a uniform growth of trees, very hardy, came into bearing 

 young, and have borne continuously. This orchard commenced bear- 

 ing at ten years of age and it has been an annual bearer ever since. 



I am very much encouraged with the future prospects of the apple 

 industry. I believe, yes, I know, there is success for those who are 

 planting and growing orchards in Michigan ; for they are building not 

 only for themselves, but for generations to come. 



A Member: Don't you break up that sod at any time? 



Mr. Overton— 71 1ms not been broken for thirteen rears. 



