320 Report of the Horticulturist of the 



Under the conditions which have been described above it is 

 clear that the effect of the variation in the amount of scab on trees 

 of the same variety in different locations, and on the same tree in 

 different seasons, may be largely corrected by averaging the re- 

 sults of a large number of trees for a period of several years. The 

 results which are set forth on the following pages, therefore, 

 form a reliable basis for conclusions as to the influence 

 which the use of wood ashes as a soil fertilizer may have on the 

 immunity of apples from the scab fungus so far as the particular 

 soil is concerned on which this experiment was made. The extent 

 to w^hich such conclusions may be accepted for other localities 

 must be determined by further observations. It is believed that 

 they will hold true generally except possibly in localities where 

 the soil is notably deficient in potash. 



An old apple orchard belonging to the Station was selected for 

 this investigation in the spring of 1893. It is located about a mile 

 and a half west of Seneca Lake, mostly on upland, but extending 

 at one side down a short southern slope and including a small 

 portion of Castle Creek bottom land. The soil is a rather heavy 

 clay loam, quite well adapted to the apple, but not equal in this 

 respect to the best apple lands of western New York. 



The oldest trees were planted in 1850, making them forty-three 

 years planted when the experiment was begun. They were root- 

 grafted trees from the nursery of T. C. Maxwell & Bros., 

 Geneva, N. Y. Nearly half of the trees which were first planted 

 are gone and their places are now filled with trees varying in size 

 from those recently planted to mature trees which have been in 

 full bearing for many years. The orchard does not form as uni- 

 form a block of trees as could be desired for the experiment, but 

 it is readily accessible and under the Station's control. Taking 

 all things into consideration, it was the best one available for the 

 investigation. ^ 



Prior to 1893, the year the experiment was inaugurated, the 

 orchard had been in meadow for several years. During the win- 

 ter of 1892-3 it was given a heavy application of stable manure 



