ORCHARD MANAGEMENT IN NEW ENGLAND 



PKOI'. \V. -M. MUNSON, UNIVKRSITV OK MAINK. 



1"^ I IKK I'", arc certain general factors 

 which control orchard management 

 in all countries. J.rieHy summarized, they 

 are: Tillage, fertility, pruning, varieties, 

 propagation and parasites. 



The soil is a storehouse for plant food, 

 and the object of tillage is to make this 

 food available. Iv)r this pr.rpose the 

 physical condition, or the texture of ti •? 

 soil, is of the greatest moment. Most soils 

 contain an abundance of plant food if the 

 soil particles are sufficiently minute to alKiu 

 the roots to lay hold of this food readily. 



Plants take their food only in the for!ii of 

 solutions, which are absorbed by the root 

 hairs, carried up through the tissues of the 

 plant to the leaves,' where they are digested ; 

 after which they are returned for the build- 

 ing up of the tissues and the formation of 

 fruit buds. The root hairs lay hold on the 

 film of moisture which surrounds each par- 

 ticle of soil, rather than upon the free water 

 between the ])articles. For this reason it, v: 

 of the greatest importance that the number 

 of particles be as great as possible, thereby 

 greatly increasing the area from which the 

 food may be obtained. 



Water which falls during the growing 

 season is entirely inadequate for the growth 

 of plants during that season, hence it is im- 

 portant that some provision be made for 

 storing moisture which falls at other times. 

 This can best be done by making the soil 

 loose and porous, that it may act ia the 

 same way as does a sponge. 



Besides providing a storage reservoir for 

 moisture, it is necessary to prevent, so rar 

 as possible, the natural evaporation, in o."- 

 der that the water with the plant food i.i 

 solution, may be forced to escape throu^n 

 the n-:edium of the desired plants. The :ii)- 

 pcarance of grass growing by the side ot 

 an old log or stone, as compared with t!:at 



at a little distance awa}', is a good illustra- 

 tion of the value of a nndch in conserving 

 moisture. The best mulch or blanket for 

 this purpose is a thin covering of dry earth, 

 such as is provided by shallow cultivation. 



TIIIC FERTIIJTV FACTOR. 



The value of tillage in aiding chemical 

 pn^cesses by warming the soil, admitting 

 oxygen and decomposing organic matter, is 

 self-evident, and a simple statement: of -fact 

 is sufficient. Any land wliicli will grow 

 good farm cro])s will mainUiin a fruit plan- 

 tation, but [)roht in fruit growing lies in se- 

 curing superior qualit\. The amount of 

 plant food to be added in any given case will 

 depend on the amount of increase of profit 

 which will result from such treatment. The 

 successftil merchant is the one who fofces 

 trade. The successful fruit grower is the 

 one who produces the best and finds a mar- 

 ket for it. 



To get the besit results keep the land at 

 work. Weeds do not run out the land, but 

 they use plant food for purposes which are 

 not desired. The best treatment for weedy 

 land is to give it thorough cultivation and 

 to use more plants of a desirable character. 

 The weedy farm is, as a rule, a poorly 

 farmed farm. 



True PRUNING FACTOR. 



A tree is essentially a colony of indi- 

 \iduals among which there is a constant 

 struggle for existence. If left to nature 

 the strongest, or those having the best posi- 

 tion on the tree will S4.irvive, but to get the 

 most satisfactory results the orchardist must 

 prevent this natural struggle and give those 

 branches which he desires to favor a better, 

 opportunity for life. The cutting of large 

 limbs is not necessarily injurious to a tree, 

 but it is advisable to go through the orchard 

 every year and thus, as far as possible, avoid 



the necessity of removing large limbs. 



ASr-^rTfr",',"^ an address Helix ered ac the annual winter conxention of the Quebec P^mological and Fruit r,ro«er,'s Society, held at 

 rtjer s t iin, i^ue., Uec, 14 i.nd 15. 



