STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 141 



Mr. Ellis, a prosperous farmer livii)g one mile east of this city, 

 has an orchard of thirteen acres planted mostly in '72-'74. Says 

 he has lost more of the crab species by winter killing than of any 

 other. His standard sorts — Wealthy, Tetofsky, Duchess, etc., — 

 are among evergreens, the latter very largely shading the ground. 

 His trees look healthy, stems straight, tops gracefully formed, 

 limbs slender but full of fruit buds. May not thier non-bearing 

 be due to the fact of the evergreens having exhausted the soil ? 



Other orchards in this vicinity, of small size, bore the last season 

 a very few apples. 



Of grapes, there were none that ripened for market; frost took 

 them all. 



A few raspberries. I saw about one-fourth acre of some black 

 variety — could not learn what — said to have yielded thirty 

 bushels. This patch was surrounded by a willow hedge, and very 

 heavily mulched with straw ; whole ground covered so that not a 

 weed could be seen. They were in hills ; canes sufiered to grow 

 six or eight feet in length. 



Mr. Galloway had last year 144 rods of land in strawberry plants; 

 had cultivated and mulched in years past, but had never obtained 

 a fair crop. Last year omitted mulching, and they were very 

 weedy. Early in the spring he scattered straw, and burnt over 

 the whole piece so that there was hardly a sign of a plant. But in 

 the course of two weeks they began to show life, and grew rapidly. 

 I should have stated that the burning was done soon after rain. 

 His yield was 2,500 quarts. 



I have two acres of old strawberry plants, mowed down directly 

 after the picking was over; old mulching and weeds left for winter 

 protection, all of which I design to burn over in the spring. Have 

 tried bagasse for mulching, and succeeded with it better than with 

 any thing else T have used. 



Yours Respectfully, 



A. MORSE. 



The Secretary. Early bearing is sometimes a sign of weakness 

 in the tree, and late or moderately late bearing, of strength and 

 vigor. Probably the present unfruitfulness of the young orchard 

 mentioned by Mr. Morse may be thus explained. Young ever- 

 greens are not supposed to sap much vitality from the soil, and 

 if not too thick or too high to shut out the air and the sunlight 

 from the trees, would hardly prevent fertility when the fruit trees 

 are old enough for healthy trees to bear. Their present good con- 

 dition is quite likely due to their evergreen protection. 



