3 io 



BULLETIN 226. 



It is a long time to wait for Baldwins and Greenings to begin to bear, 

 but they make up for this delay by continuing to be profitable for many 

 years. The life of an apple-tree has commonly been spoken of as about 

 forty to fifty years, but the maximum yield in Wayne county is not 

 reached till forty-four years from the time of planting. (See table 26 

 and Fig. 64.) After this there is a gradual decrease. Several orchards 



set before 1820 are 

 still profitable. With 

 the better care that 

 trees are now receiv- 

 ing, their age of max- 

 i m u m yield will 

 doubtless be increased. 

 It is probable that the 

 returns for good 

 treatment will be even 

 more marked in pro- 

 longing the life of the 

 orchard than in in- 

 creasing the annual 

 yield. (See Fig. 65.) 

 There are very few 

 45-year-old trees that 

 have not seen some 

 very rough treatment. 

 They have gone a 

 number of years with- 

 out any fertilization 



FIG. 65. Ninety-six years old and still young. This or tillage. The canker- 

 or chard contains about 145 of the original 270 trees worm has feasted on 

 set 96 years ago. Orchard of J. A. Kuck, Kuckvillc, t ] iem . ca ttle have 

 Orleans county. 



damaged them. They 



have gone years without pruning, or, worse, have had large limbs cut 

 off in such a way that the wounds can not heal. Some orchards of 

 this age are composed of sound, thrifty trees that give promise of an 

 increased yield for some years to come. 



Will it pay to plant young orchards? From the ages at which the 

 yields begin to decrease it would seem that in about twenty years a large 



