AN APPLE ORCHARD SURVEY OF WAYNE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 271 



accord with the appearance of the orchards thus pastured. Cattle rub 

 on the trees, break the branches and browse the limbs as high as they 

 can reach. The few, dollars that it would cost to procure a regular 

 pasture for them is lost many times over by the damage to the trees. 

 Horses are not so frequently pastured in' the orchards, but are 

 equally injurious. In one case a good young orchard had nearly every 

 tree stripped of its bark by a span of horses. The orchard was worth 

 about five times as much as the horses. 



Next in the scale of injuriousness to pasturing cattle in an orchard 

 is the raising of hay in it. The hay crop grows in the spring at the 

 time when the apple-trees make their growth. It therefore uses the 

 plant-food and water at the time when the trees need it most. If the 

 grass is left on the ground the 

 mulch helps to preserve the 

 moisture, and leaves the 

 plant- food so that the damage 

 is not so great. 



Sheep crop the grass close 

 to the ground, and so to some 

 extent prevent the large evap- 

 oration that occurs in a hay 



field. The manure dropped 



, ,, , - FIG. 47. Sheep have removed about a barrel' 



b them is also of consider- gf ^^ fnm ^ ^ {n 



able value. Fig. 46 shows an 

 orchard that is pastured by sheep early in the season. This is one of the 

 best sod orchards. Large applications of barnyard manure are used. 

 Several of the limbs that show a lack of foliage are infected by canker. 

 If sheep are allowed to run in the orchard during the latter part of the 

 season, they frequently pick many apples. If prices are good, the apples 

 eaten may be of more value than the sheep (see Fig. 47). 



Pasturing with hogs seems to give better yields than any other 

 method of sod treatment. The hogs usually do considerable rooting, 

 and so prevent the formation of a tough sod. In some cases the 

 orchard that has hogs in it might almost be classed as a tilled orchard. 

 The difference is also largely due to the manure. The hogs receive most 

 of their food from outside the orchard, so that there is a constant addi- 

 tion to the plant-food in the soil. Cattle and sheep are usually fed 

 much less. 



