-7- 



applos at harvest time, V/g cannot afford, to lose tho opportunity 

 to increase the organic matter in the orchard. Neither can we 

 afford to cultivate in a v/ay that v/111 burn out the organic 

 matter now present. Our orchard practice must he of a kind that 

 maintains, and if possible. Increases the organic matter content 

 of the soil, 



Er OS ion Losses in Mev/ England 



Many farmers are tilling what v;as originally a subsoil 

 without knowing it. Hilltops and hillsides subject to surface 

 run-off have in many cases lost from 6 inches to several feet of 

 the surface layer which is now spread over the valleys bclov;. 

 This fact is strikingly illustrated v/hen v;o dig a hole or trench 

 at the two levels. On the hilltop we find a very shallow layer 

 of so called top soil, while at the foot of tho hill the layer 

 v;lll be many times as thick. 



Some recent v/ork in New York State throws further 

 light on this question. Land that slopes o.bout 10 feet for each 

 100 feet, a relatively gentle slope for that area, v;as cropped to 

 potatoes and cultivated up and dov/n the slope. There was a loss 

 of 14:% of the rain water in run-off, and 28,000 pounds of fine 

 top soil to the acre in a single year. Idle land grov/n up to 

 weeds lost almost as much rain water as the potato field. Fields 

 on the same soil and slope as the potatoes cropped in alternating 

 strips crosswise, lost only 1% of the rain water in surface run- 

 off, and 43 pounds of soil to the acre. Thus the water loss was 

 reduced 14 times and tho soil loss 650 times. Land in a good 

 stand of grass and clover lost very little v/ater and soil. Many 

 of our Nov; England orchardists need this lesson brought home to 

 them since it has a definite relation to soil conservation, par- 

 ticularly as regards m.ulching, seeding down, etc. It is claimed 

 that 3/4 of the land in the United States is sloping. New England 

 seems to have its full share. 



Soil Factors Ef fee tins Orcharding 



In a recent issue of the Rural Kev/ Yorker there appears 

 an article by F. G, Hollis, Ke says, "Extensive studies carried 

 on in many apple orchards have shovm that there is such a definite 

 relationship between the yield of fruit and the soil that one can 

 predict the chance of profitable operations if soil characteris- 

 tics are known. By selecting a proper sojl, much of the gamble 

 can be removed in the management of the orchard. No fertilizer 

 treatment can completely overcome a naturally unadapted soil. 

 There is no use to prolong the life of an orchard which should 

 never have been planted. The same land may be well adapted to 

 some otr^er crop." Mr. Hollis goes on to say that a survey of 

 New York State showed that over 40;^ of the orchards in one of the 

 fruit sections were on marginal or utterly unfit land. Apples re- 

 quire deep rooting in order to supply water and nuti'ients at all 

 times. Roots need oxygen which is excluded by v/ater. The roots 

 naturally grow vigorously for a period of a month or six weeks 

 before the buds break in the spring and again in the fall when 

 leaf growth has stopped. A high water table at these times is 



