TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 75 



one in Illinois or anywhere else. Tt is a sad thing to see. 

 When you look at it and consider the possibilities wrapped up 

 therein, a sorrow, deep indeed, wells up within you ; that any 

 man could own, in the day of progressive fruit growing, a 

 field on which there had been growing for all these years 

 such possibilities and yet he willingly neglected them. 



Tillage. 



The question of tillage is of prime importance. The best 

 growers in New York, in general, are believers in thorough 

 cultivation. There are a few strong exceptions, and in some 

 instances, at least, these men have good grounds for their 

 belief in the sod mulch practice. It is necessary to get clear- 

 ly in mind for what we cultivate — primarily with us it is for 

 the purpose of conserving the moisture in the soil and also 

 to prepare the soil for root activity. If an orchard is located 

 •on soil which is naturally very fertile and where there is 

 therefore an abundance of plant food, cultivation may then 

 not be needed for that purpose. If the orchard has also the 

 advantage of being on a soil naturally moist, it may not be 

 necessary to cultivate at all : cultivation, in fact, may be under 

 these conditions a distinct disadvantage. But most of our 

 farmers have not these conditions, and in order to get crops, 

 and to secure size, it is necessary to cultivate, and do it thor- 

 oughly. In Monroe County, practically one-third of all the 

 apple orchards are cultivated every year. Nearly another 

 third is' cultivated at least three years out of five. 



Beginning with a fall when there is no cover crop upon 

 the ground, the orchard is either plowed that fall or early the 

 next spring. Some of our best orchardists practice regularly 

 fall plowing. This process aids considerably in the rush of 

 spring work, for when the orchard has been plowed before 

 winter, then a disk harrow is put on as early in the spring as 

 possible. Thorough cultivation is then practiced until mid- 

 summer. The spring-tooth harrow is used extensively. 

 When the soil is very fine and the rains are not heavy, a 

 spike-tooth drag, or even a weeder, may be used. All the 



