STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 9I 



growth of trees Young trees should be cultivated from April 

 till September. Too much cultivation of bearing trees causes 

 too much wood growth. He has now nearly 27,000 trees, and 

 does not fear that we will ever produce too many good apples. — 

 Report of meeting of Missouri Horticnltiiral Society. 



RENOVATE THE OLD ORCHARD. 



There are many old and some middle-aged orchards, once 

 profitable, but now sources of loss. At the same time, there are 

 men in this state who are investing labor and capital in renovat- 

 ing such orchards, and find it a paying business. Will it not 

 pay some of us who have land occupied by neglected and unpro- 

 ductive apple trees to give them another and a fair chance ? Let 

 me outline a course of treatment for such trees for this season. 



1. The trees need pruning. This should be done at once. 

 First take out all the dead, diseased and interfering branches ; 

 remove all suckers and sprouts from the bases and trunks of the 

 trees. Second, scrape off the roughest of the old bark with an 

 old hoe or other suitable tool, being careful not to injure or 

 expose the live parts beneath. 



2. The trees need spraying. The first spray should be given 

 before the buds burst. Use Bordeaux mixture. Consult spray 

 •calendar. Continue the spraying as directed. 



3. The trees need tillage. The sod should be thoroughly 

 pulverized. This may be accomplished, if the sod is not tough, 

 by using a springtooth harrow or disc harrow. If sod is tough 

 and dense, turn it over with a plow and work down fine with a 

 harrow. Plow away from trees and as shallow as possible near 

 them. Till at least once in ten days up to the middle of July. 



4. The trees need fertilizing. Fertilizers may be furnished 

 through green manures. During the last half of July, harrow 

 and drill cow peas (Whippoorwill or Blackeye) at the rate of 

 one and a half bushels per acre. If drilling is impracticable, 

 broadcast, rolling the ground afterwards. The interest in the 

 experiment may be increased by using dift'erent cover-crops; for 

 instance, cow peas on one part, Canada peas on another, and 

 crimson clover on a third. 



