-5- 



the middle of May. Furthermore, that hakes it necessary for the tree to build 

 up nuw leaf area and as long as it is building now leaf area it is using what 

 little food it has to make more leaves. In thu meantime tho root system is not 

 getting the benefit of the food as early u.s it should. 



The opening of buds and the size of leaves this spring depends very large- 

 ly upon the food put back into the tree in 1938. The aniount of w..tor is also an 

 important factor. If we have a hot, dry spell the leaves will tend to be smaller 

 simply bocauso thoy will not have quite so much water pressure to expand thorn. 

 Do we want a larga leuf area early in the spring? A moderate leaf area seems 

 more desirable in order that the reduced root system vdll still be able to supply 

 the necessary water. If we force the tree to develop a heavy leaf area, there 

 will be a larger loss of water through the leaves and the tree is thus less able 

 to withstand hot, dry vi^eather in early summer. Vi/e must give the tree an oppor- 

 tunity to adjust itself. A somewhat smaller early leaf area may be an advc.ntage, 

 since we do not have enough root system to supply water for an abnormally large 

 leaf area. 



The hurricane came the latter p.*rt of September • The ground v;as fairly 

 moist so we had little trouble in getting mc.ny of the trees b^^ck in an upright 

 position. Much of the foliage remained for a month -fter the damage occurred. 

 That was a favorable circumstance from the standpoint of recovery. With the 

 fruit removed, Vi/hutoVer food remained could be distributed to the root system. 

 This will provide material for a root grovrth early in the spring evon before 

 there is any considerable amount of growth in the top. If the fruits had re- 

 mained on the tree they would have taken a good share of the food material. 



There is one critical period in the recovery of these damaged trees. It 

 is to oe hoped that we do not have cloudy vi/eather and a lot of rain early in the 

 growing season. The more favorable the growing conditions after the first of 

 June the better. Trees will still be subject to blowing over next spring while 

 the ground is soft. We must therefore anchor them securely. The difficulties 

 should be largely over at the end of the first growing season. 



In conclusion, these trees that have suffered may last for 200 years, 

 but they are never going to be the same. They may furnish a few bushels of fruit 

 for a long time, but for the future of the industry we must make up our minds 

 that "here is the time to start planting an orchard or to replace this one." We 

 in New York have made the mistake for a good many years of not replacing our old 

 trees, and almost everyone regards the recent severe winter as a blessing be- 

 cause we noticed our trees growing older and getting weaker. A thing of this 

 kind will emphasize the need for keeping up the supply of young trees. V/e do 

 not have to be young in order to set out a young orchard. Trees have a very re- 

 markable range of adjustment and if we have favorable soil conditions, favorable 

 varieties, we may look for a good many crops as long as we treat our trees well. 

 The main thing is not to push the trees too fast the first year and not to prune 

 too heavily. 



Service in Locating; a Hqvj Orcnard 



Soil conditions 3 or 4 feet below the surface are generally of more im- 

 portance from the standpoint of future profits than the conditions we can see 

 on the surface. It is fairly easy to modify the surface soil. But we can't do 

 much, if anything, about the subsoil. So it is important that we know the fit- 

 ness of a prospective site before the trees are set. To give practical assist- 



