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Land Clearing 



A new publication, "Clearing and Improvement of Farm Land in 

 Massachusetts" is novi available through tne Hailing Room at 

 the University of Massachusetts or your County Extension 

 Office, Just ask for Bulletin- No. 439. Quoting from the 

 cover page, "The primary purposes of this study have been to 

 appraise the methods used in land improvement, to evaluate 

 the results in terms of cost-benefit comparisons, and to 

 study the significance of land reclamation for the future 

 of agriculture in Liassachusetts", Any fruit grov/er 

 interested in clearing additional land or improving land 

 novv in use \yill find helpful suggestions in this publica- 

 tion. 



Hardy Stocks for Baldwin Trees. It is a well knov.-n fact that we have no apple 

 variety which completely replaces the "good old Baldwin", Cortland and Gallia 

 are partial replacements, but there is real need for a combination eating and 

 cooking apple to extend the iiclntosh season. Many grovrers v/ould probably take a 

 chance on planting another Baldvdn block, W'jre it not for the susceptibility of 

 this variety to winter injury. This is particularly true in view of the new red 

 sport (Galbraith Baldvdn) described in the November issue of Fruit Notes, 



V/hy not develop a Baldwin orchard of this new strain on one of the hardy stocks, 

 such as Virginia Crab or Hibernal? Baldxvin trees on such stocks have been brought 

 through severe v;inters at Orono, i.Iaine, Tho chances in Liassachusetts are very 

 much better. To establish such an orchard a Virginia Crab tree, for example, which 

 has been budded on a seedling root is set out in the orchard and allov.'ed to 

 develop a sot of scaffold branches. These branches are later grafted or budded 

 to Baldv;in at points about a foot distant from the leader. Thus v:e get a Baldwin 

 tree with a seedling root, and with a trijnk and crotches of a very hardy variety, 

 Anj'' grower interested in starting such a block of trees may obtain the necessary 

 information by contacting the compiler of Fruit Notes, 



 He***********:):*** 



YnTiat is "Orchard Reorganization '*? iiany of our present day fruit plantings repre- 

 sent long years of "hit and miss evolution". Innumerable blocks of fruit trees 

 have come into existence, not because the ov.Tier considered the soil and site ideal, 

 but because particular areas v;ere not well suited to anything else, "If it's too 

 poor for hay, it will at least grov; apple trees", seems to have been the philoso- 

 phy behind some of the orchards of grandfather's day. And to make matters v/orse, 

 small detached areas were often planted, thus contributing to inefficient managc~ 

 ment, while in some cases, extensions of particular blocks v;ere accomplished by 

 planting trees on areas which v:ere either poorly drained or hopelessly rocky. 



In its simplest terms, orchard reorganization means revamping our present day 

 plantings to reduce the amount of labor required and to increase the per acre yield. 

 Probably every orchard in Massachusetts lends itself in one way or another to this 

 kind of improvement. Among the possibilities are (1) elimination of crowding 

 fillers, old trees, blocks in frost pockets, etc., (2) drainage of wet spots, 

 '3) removal of stone walls and boulders, (4) improvement of environment, . 

 ^5) improvement in facilities for pollination, (6) consolidation of blocks and ex- 

 pansion by planting on better soils and sites, (7) smoothing of orchard floor to 

 permit easier movement of equipment, (8) installation of better v.'ater supply for 

 ."praying, and (9) any other labor saving or yield increasing practice within reason 

 Evory acre at its best means every permanent tree at its best. 



