AN APPLE ORCHARD SURVEY OF WAYNE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 277 



the practice quite profitable. It seems probable that more of this 

 winter feeding will be done in the future. The expense of caring for 

 stock in the winter is not very great. The fertilizing value of the 

 feed is frequently over half of its cost.* 



Method of applying manure. Manure is almost always applied in a 

 small circle around the base of the tree. This is a serious mistake. 

 The roots of a bearing orchard occupy all the ground. Those from 

 one row may extend beyond the next row. The small feeding roots 

 are naturally most numerous at some distance from the tree, much as 

 the active twigs are found at the ends of the large branches. The 

 manure should therefore be applied to the entire ground. If any place 

 is not covered, let it be that near the trunk. Professor Roberts has 

 aptly likened the application around the trunk to putting the hay under 

 the horse's feet. 



Cover-crops. More orchards are in need of humus than are in need 

 of the direct application of plant-food. For this reason the applica- 

 tion of barnyard manure generally gives much better results than the 

 use of fertilizers. This is particularly true of sod orchards. Tilled 

 orchards usually do as well when green manure with potash and phos- 

 phoric acid are used. On some of the stronger soils no fertilization of 

 any kind may 'be needed for many years, if plenty of green manure is 

 plowed under. 



Eight per cent of the mature orchards of the county were sown to cover- 

 crops in 1902. Buckwheat was the most common, followed by crim- 

 son clover and common red clover. Rye, large clover, cow-peas, alfalfa, 

 peas and oats, and vetch were also grown. Buckwheat furnishes a large 

 amount of humus and leaves the soil in a friable condition. It is not a 

 legume, and so can 1 not use nitrogen from the air. Crimson clover has 

 generally done well, but some growers have 'had difficulty in getting a 

 stand. One man has grown it every other year for fourteen years. 

 Common red clover has been most satisfactory when a year of tillage 

 has been followed by a year in which the clover is cut and left on the 

 land to be plowed under the second year. Peas and oats have given 

 good results in most cases.f 



*For tables of the value of the fertilizing elements in various feeds, see Cornell 

 Bulletin 154. 



tFor a more extended discussion of orchard cover-crops, see Cornell Bulletin 198. 



