296 



Bulletin 262. 



VII. Treatment Prior to 1906. Mature Orchards 



TREATMENT. 



Tilled ten years or more 



Tilled five years or more 



Tilled over half of preceding five years 

 Sod over half of preceding five years. . 



Sod five years or more 



Sod ten years or more 



Number of 

 orchards. 



142 



71 

 32 



53 

 57 

 64 



Number of 

 acres. 



Per cent 

 orchards. 



.343 

 233 

 423 



643 

 613 

 627 



33 

 16 



7 



12 



13 

 15 



Fig. 34. — The work o^ the " skinning 

 type of cultivator 



Methods of sod treatment. — Sod 

 orchards not pastured have given 

 much better results on the average 

 than sod orchards handled in any 

 other way, but in Niagara County 

 there are special reasons for this. In 

 the first place, the unpastured sod or- 

 chards receive better care. A sod or- 

 chard that is not pastured does not 

 mean a neglected orchard. A good 

 many growers who have orchard land 

 handled in this manner make it a 

 point to prune well, spray well, and 

 fertilize well ; and although they do 

 not cultivate or pasture, yet they may 

 get good crops. The much larger 

 number of orchards and acres in sod 

 and not pastured is an indication that 

 some of the fruit producers have 

 found out these things for themselves. 

 Again, the unpastured sod orchards 

 are generally younger than pastured 

 ones. 



On the other hand, sod orchards 

 which are pastured with cattle, sheep, 

 or even with hogs, are more likely 

 to be neglected. There are two rea- 

 sons for this. One is the presence of 

 scale, and the other is the tendency 

 to pasture the orchards which have 

 passed beyond the period of largest 

 crops. 



With respect to the method of 

 pasturing, hogs have given better re- 



