114 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



An experiment in Pennsylvania" compares clean tillage, 

 tillage and cover crop, sod mulch and sod. On the sod 

 mulch plot all the herbage remains, the first cutting being 

 raked about the trees and an additional mulch of straw, 

 swamp hay, or buckwheat straw (about three tons to the 

 acre) being added, making a covering three or four inches 

 deep. On the sod plot the first cutting is removed, the sec- 

 ond left where it falls. The tilled plots were cultivated till 

 July first. In three young orchards the mulch system ranked 

 first in yield and size of fruit, second to sod in color and sec- 

 ond to clean tillage in growth. It beat the cover crop method 

 at all points. The inimulched sod gave the smallest yield, 

 smallest growth, but best-colored fruit. This is the result 

 of three years' crops. 



In a mature orchard, on the other hand, tillage with 

 cover crop was far ahead of the sod mulch in yield (1 1/2 

 times as much) and had double the growth. In color, how- 

 ever, the mulched fruit was superior. 



The discrepancy between results in the two orchards, 

 the author says, is due to the fact that the mulch held suf- 

 ficient water for the small young trees, but not enough for 

 those which were larger. 



It seems to me that the results show that a good nuilch 

 of trash all over the orchard may be in some cases more ef- 

 fective than tillage, but it is impracticable under most con- 

 ditions. Sod culture, the author states, hastens bearing in 

 young trees. This is a common observation and suggests 

 this as a possible explanation : The sod method divides 

 the water and mineral food supply between two crops. The 

 growth of the wood is therefore less rapid, and because of 

 that the tree turns to fruiting earlier than one which grew 

 unhindered. Deficient food or water supply, generally, I be- 

 lieve, induces earlier fruiting. 



The Cornell Station^", concluding an orchard survey of 

 Niagara County, New York, says : 



s Pennsylvania Station Bulletin 100. 



" Cornell University Station Bulletin 262. 



