FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 117 



consiimptioD. it is probable that the figures showing the yield for 1900 

 would be but about one-quarter those for 1880. The same condition pre- 

 vails in nearly all of the southern counties. 



From this it is very evident that on an average the orchards of this 

 portion of Michigan have not paid for the ground they occupy and, 

 rather than allow them to remain in their fjresent unfruitful condition, 

 it would be better to follow Ihe advice of Mr. Powell and convert them 

 into firewood. 



On many farms we find only a few apple trees, designed to furnish 

 fruit for family use. Oftentimes they are near the house where the 

 land would not be used for farm crops, and where they furnish shade 

 and at the same time relieve the otherwise barren landscape. Under 

 these circumstances their removal would not be desirable, especially as 

 with a small amount of labor they may often be brought back to fruitful- 

 ness. It is the orchard of five to ten or more acres that presents the more 

 difficult problem, as we must first decide whether they are likely to repay 

 for the labor of renovation and for the use of the land they occupy. To 

 be able to secure satisfactory returns the trees must be in a fairly healthy 

 condition, and the soil and location must be adapted to apple growing. 



If a large i)ropor.tion of the trees are missing, and especially if those 

 that remain have hollow or otherwise injured trunks, if a part of the 

 branches have broken down and the others are in a weak condition, the 

 chances are decidedly against successful renovation. Many orchards 

 have not been fruitful, and cannot be made fruitful, owing to their being 

 located on low and poorly drained land, and the sooner they are removed 

 the better. The nature of the soil should also be considered and either 

 extreme of sand or clay should be avoided. On a light sandy soil the trees 

 are likely to suffer from drought and from a lack of plant food, while a 

 clay soil is difficult to work and the surface bakes, and it may become 

 even drier than a sandy soil during a long drought. In a general way 

 it may be said that a strong loamy soil, either a heavy sandy loam or a 

 light clay loam soil, will generally be adapted to apple culture, and if 

 it is so located that it has good drainage for both air and water and the 

 trees are in a fairly healthy condition and of good varieties, it will gener- 

 ally pay to renovate them. 



TREATMENT OF THE TREES. 



In the renovation of old orchards, while a marked benefit can generally 

 be secured if the treatment includes but one or two of the four lines of 

 work that will be recommended, the best results cannot be obtained 

 unless attention is given to all of them. The causes that have been at 

 the bottom of the trouble have been stated and the treatment will be along 

 lines calculated to correct the difficulty. The four things that are needed 

 by most of our apple orchards are, (1) pruning, (2) cultivation, (3) 

 manur.ing, and (4) spraying. 



PRUNING. 



The pruning needed varies with the indi%Mdual trees and only general 

 rules can be given. It will always be well to cut out the dead branches, and 



