SUMMARY. 



Extent of the survey. Altogether, 564 orchards, containing 4,881 

 acres, were examined in Orleans county in the summer and fall of 1904. 

 There are approximately 16,500 acres of apples in the county. 



Varieties. Baldwin and Rhode Island Greening are the leading vari- 

 eties. Roxbury Russet, Tompkins King, Twenty-Ounce, Hubbardston, 

 Northern Spy, Duchess of Oldenburg and a few other varieties, are also 

 commonly grown but are all secondary in extent to the Baldwin and 

 Greening. 



Tillage. Eleven per cent of the orchards have been tilled five or more 

 years ; 33 per cent have been in sod five or more years ; the others have 

 been tilled part of the time. 



The five-year average yield of orchards that have been tilled ten years 

 is 86 per cent larger than that of those which have been in sod ten or 

 more years, and those tilled five years gave 34 per cent larger yield than 

 those in sod five years. A part of this difference is due to tillage and a 

 part is due to the fact that the man who tills his orchard is likely to give 

 it improved care in other respects. Of the orchards that were well cared 

 for in other respects, the ones that have been tilled ten or more years gave 

 45 per cent larger yield than those that were in sod ten or more years, 

 and those tilled five or more years gave 1 5 per cent larger yield than those 

 in sod the same period. The average prices per bushel have been a little 

 larger from tilled than from sod orchards, so that there is a slightly 

 greater difference in income per acre than in yields. 



Of the various methods of sod treatment thus far tried, pasturing with 

 hogs or sheep gave the largest average yields. 



One-fifth of the sod orchards are as good as the average tilled ones, but 

 no method of sod treatment equals tillage in average yield or income. 



Fertilisation. Many farmers apply all or nearly all the manure from 

 the farm in the orchard. Ninety-one per cent of the area is given some 

 manure. Commercial fertilizers or wood ashes have been used in 24 per 

 cent. The fertilizers used usually contain no nitrogen or are low in 

 nitrogen. 



