CHAPTER VIII. 

 AGE OF THE ORCHARDS. 



Date of planting. Few of the old orchards are now owned by the men 

 who set them, or even by the descendants of these men. It is, therefore, 

 difficult to get the exact age in all cases, but the reports are probably 

 accurate enough to. give reliable conclusions. 



Most of the trees set before 1850 were for the purpose of supplying 

 the family wants. About this time growers began to set commercial 

 orchards. The majority were set between 1860 and 1875. The number 

 planted decreased till 1895. Since then there has been a gradual increase. 

 (See table 25.) 



The young orchards are nearly all in the north part of the county. 

 Very few trees have been set in the south part during the last twenty-five 

 years. (Some discussion of the reason for this will be found on page 259.) 



TABLE 25. 



Number of acres planted during each five-year period. The table includes only 

 those orchards that are still living. Some of the earlier plantings have disap- 

 peared. 



Yield at different ages. The fact that apples are the chief source of 

 income for so many farmers, and that practically every one considers 

 them to be a paying crop, would seem to raise the question of why more 

 orchards are not planted. The great deterrent to such planting is the 

 long time that one must wait for returns. With the usual treatment of 



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