Tillage and Fertilizing. 493 



instead of constant cultivation year after year, it is recommended to 

 leave the ground in sod for one or two years in every five or six. This 

 method combines tillage and sod, and gives excellent results. 



Methods of Sod Culture. 



In some orchards, however, cultivation would not be practicable. 

 This is the case on a hillside where the ground is too steep to till. The 

 grower would either pasture or mulch such an orchard. 



(a) Pasture. — A comparison of the yields of sod orchards pastured 

 differently give the following results : 



Average yield in bu. 

 Wayne Co. Orleans Co. 



Pastured with hogs 271 312 



Pastured with sheep 216 208 



Pastured with cattle 159 153 



Sod, not pastured 185 217 



Tlie figures show that hogs are the best animals for the orchard. 

 There are various reasons for this. In the first place, hogs do consider- 

 able rooting, and we may say that a hog-pastured orchard is practically 

 a cultivated orchard. Moreover, hogs are fed mostly outside of the 

 orchard, and the manure dropped is a constant addition to the plant 

 food in the soil. Hogs also eat the wormy apples which drop early and 

 thus a great many of the worms are destroyed, 



Sheep are next to hogs. The manure dropped is a constant addition 

 to the plant food. The sheep also keep the grass eaten closely, thus 

 preventing excessive evaporation and loss of moisture which occur in 

 the hay field. 



Cattle and horses should never be allowed to run in the orchard. 

 They are worse than nothing. They browse the branches as high as they 

 can reach, and ofter break and bark the larger limbs. 



(b) Mulch. — Mulching consists in cutting the grass and allowing it 

 to decay as it falls, or throwing it around the trees. Do not practice 

 the latter. If the grass is cut, is should be allowed to lie as it falls. 

 There is considerable discussion at the present time regarding the bene- 

 ficial results of mulching. In case it is impossible to cultivate an orchard, 

 probably the next best treatment is to pasture it with hogs or keep it 

 mulched. Do not, however, practice mulching where cultivation is 

 practicable and possible. 



