131 



CULTURAL METHODS IN MATURE ORCHARDS. 



When we come to mature orchards, we find some re- 

 versals of previous form, especially in regard to growth. 

 Data on this will be found in Table IV. This experiment is 

 located on a sandy loam of alluvial origin in Wyoming 

 County, north of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. The trees are 

 Baldwin and Spy and they were 36 years old at the start of 

 the experiment in 1907. The usual orchard tillage has been 

 used, along with annual leguminous covers composed of 

 vetch and clover. The mulch has been made with annual 

 applications of swamp hay at the rate of about 3 tons per 

 acre, in addition to the intergrowth, which has been rather 

 light. The manure has been added annually at the rate of 

 12 tons per acre, and the fertilizer at the rate of 30 pounds 

 of nitrogen, 60 pounds of P2O5 and 100 pounds of K2O per 

 acre. At present, however, we are recommending only 8 

 tons of manure or the fertilizer indicated later. 



TABLE IV. 



Influence of Cultural Methods On Yield and Growth, Expt. 221. 



(Annual yields per acre, 1909-13, and the average increase in 

 trunk-girth 1907-12) 



Average Yields, Last 5 Years. Average Growth, 6 Years 



In this experiment, where the mulch alone has been 

 compared with the tillage and covercrops alone, the latter 

 have excelled in yield by about 18 bushels per acre annually. 

 In this case therefore the covercrops are evidently furnish- 



