CONTEASTS IN METHODS OF APPLE 



CULTURE 



W. T. MACOUN, 



CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM, OTTAWA, CANADA. 



DURING the early part of September the 

 writer had the opportunity of visiting 

 the Hamilton and Grimsby districts, and of 

 inspecting some of the large apple orchards 

 there, and almost immediately afterwards of 

 travelling more than 350 miles east to 

 Montreal and vicinity, and examining large 

 orchards there also. The contrast in meth- 

 ods was very marked, yet as good fruit was 

 seen at one place as at the other. In the 

 West, clean culture, heavy pruning and 

 thorough spraying resulted in good fruit. 

 In the East there was good fruit where the 

 orchard was sod, the trees lightly pruned, 

 but thoroughly sprayed. Spraying with 

 Bordeaux mixture is necessary everywhere, 

 but methods of pruning and soil culture 

 must be governed by climate. In the West 

 the soil is cultivated principally to conserve 

 moisture. In the East, especially in the 

 Ottawa Valley, this is not usually necessary, 

 as there is sufficient moisture to ensure a 

 thrifty growth and well developed fruit. 

 In the West, severe pruning invigorates the 

 tree, the result being larger fruit. In the 

 East, there is danger of sunscald from severe 

 pruning, though light pruning is necessary. 

 In Eastern Ontario and the Province of 

 Quebec protection for the roots in winter is, 

 in the writer's opinion, necessary, and as a 

 rule more important than conservation of 

 moisture. A young, bearing orchard may 

 be ruined by winter-killing if the roots are 

 not protected by grass, sod or some cover 



crop. There is no better system of cultiva- 

 tion known for Western Ontario than clean 

 culture in spring and early summer, followed 

 by a cover crop for winter protection and 

 for adding humus to the soil. It is doubt- 

 ful, however, if this system should be recom- 

 mended for all sections. The writer believes 

 that after the young trees are established 

 best results will be obtained, where the trees 

 do not suffer from drought and where the 

 soil is good, by keeping the orchard in 

 grass or clover all the year round, and 

 mulching the ground with the grass or 

 clover, which should be cut several times 

 during the season. The soil may be top- 

 dressed with manure or other fertilizers as 

 often as is found necessary to maintain its 

 fertility. There is much more likely to be 

 immature wood where the clean culture and 

 cover crop system is adopted than where 

 the trees are in sod, and well ripened wood 

 is very essential in Eastern Ontario and the 

 Province of Quebec. 



In the American Agricultural and Horti- 

 cultural periodicals there has been much 

 discussion for a year or more over the 

 splendid results obtained by Mr. Grant G. 

 Hitchings, Onondaga, N. Y,, in growing 

 his apple trees in sod and mulching with the 

 cut grass. The fine results obtained by 

 this gentleman have fully justified the dis- 

 cussions on his methods, but it is unfortunate 

 that more prominence has not been given to 

 the special conditions ot soil moisture which 



