366 ANNUAL REPORT 



spreading mulch never let it come within a foot of the tree, on 

 account of mice. Corn stalks and begasse are probably the best 

 mulches, with coarse swamp hay, clover, or straw next in order. 

 Ai regards fertilizers, wood ashes are probably one of the best 

 things that we can obtain. Wood ashes contain all the required 

 elements of plant nutrition, except nitrogen, and are very rich 

 in potash and lime, the principal constituents of the apple tree. 

 About fifty bushels should be used per acre, but care should be 

 used not to allow the ashes to come in contact with the tree, 

 trunk, or they will eat the bark off and thereby kill the tree. 

 Manure from stables is also good, and should be liberally 

 sprinkled through the orchard every year, while the carcasses of 

 dead animals placed under ground several feet from a tree pay 

 well for the trouble of placing them there, although in case of a 

 well being anywhere in the vicinity, the latter method should 

 not be resorted to. 



RABBITS, MICEj BORERS, CODLING MOTH, ETC. 



Of the many pests that the orchardist has to contend with it is 

 probably well to speak of a few. It makes the heart of the or- 

 chardist sink away down below the zero point when on walking 

 through his orchard on some fine winter's day he perceives great 

 patches of bark gnawed from some of his trees, or entirely 

 girdled and nearly spoiled. He knows this to be the work of the 

 rabbit or mouse. If he wants to save his orchard he must set 

 about to exterminate his little foes. In the case of the rabbit one 

 of the best methods is the use of the figure four trap baited with 

 sweet apple. Cabbage leaves and turnips are also good. The 

 rabbit being very hungry and smelling the tempting bait loses 

 ^11 fear of the huge trap and creeps under to his doom. He has 

 but to nibble a little at the bait, the triggers are sprung and 

 bunnielies at the mercy of his captor. A more handy way but 

 at the same time a more dangerous one is to stick little pieces of 

 apples containing strychnine on little sticks. These sticks are 

 then stuck in the snow deep enough that the apple is left about 

 six inches above the snow's surface. The rabbit eats the apple, 

 is poisoned and generally may be found in the morning where he 

 partook of the fatal fruit. The little mice are harder to destroy 

 on account of their size and numbers. In the winter time they 

 are to be found under the snow where any litter, such as grass 

 and weeds, have been allowed to remain. Therefore all suck 



