THE APPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS 



97 



Tlie size of orchard varies with the section of the state. Hampshire County 

 has the highest average with 510 bearing trees. This does not mean that most 

 of the orchards are larger than in other sections, but that there are more large 

 orchards. The most common size is the same for all counties, from 100 to 

 199 trees. Worcester County ranks second in size with an average of 411 

 trees, while Hampden County, with 192, is low. Norfolk, Bristol and Plymoutii 

 average under 300 trees, indicating few large orchards in those sections. 



Ninety-five growers had no bearing trees, but reported young orchards 

 containing nearly one-fourth of the total number of non-bearing trees. This 

 group,, comprising only 5 per cent of the growers, averages over 900 young 

 trees per orchard and includes some of the largest single plantings in the state. 



Nearly one-fifth of the growers visited own bearing orchards of less than 

 100 trees. This group of orchards represents blocks of young plantings or old 

 orchards that are well-cared for and commercially important in their section. 

 Many of these growers have maintained a relatively profitable farm orchard 



CHART 9. Size of Bearing Orchards, 1925. 



AUMBie OF oec//AJfDS 

 d75 



50.0 



O I UW£Q 200 \ 200 SO o I soo-tooo\ /ooo-2ooo\ oy£R zooo 

 J/Z£ OF OfiC/^AJ?£) //y //(///3£JS 0£ 3£AB//^G TP££S 



for years and are gradually increasing their plantings. This is indicated by the 

 fact that they reported only 3 per cent of the bearing trees, but nearly 16 

 per cent of the non-bearing trees. 



Recent plantings have been very heavy on small orchards and nearly half 

 the non-bearing trees were reported by men having fewer than 500 trees. 

 Nearly three-fourths of the trees not bearing have been planted by men with 

 comparatively small bearing orchards, or by men just entering the business. 



A comparison of the ages of trees in orchards of different sizes shows that 

 those in orchards of 1,000 or more bearing trees are relatively young. Most 

 of them have been set within the past fifteen years. Old trees are found 

 chiefly in the small orchards and the production per bearing tree averages 

 nearly twice that in the large orchards. For this reason the small orchards of 

 the state produce relatively more of the crop than the large orchards. 

 Orchards of fewer than 200 bearing trees produce one-fourth of the crop, and 

 half the commercial production comes from orchards of fewer than 500 bear- 



