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ENCYCLOPEDIA OP" PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



in the vacant spaces, nor is it satisfactory 

 to start young trees in an old orchard. 

 When the trees to be renovated are along 

 the roadside or a line fence, the vacancy 

 factor may be ignored. In orchards where 

 less than 60 per cent of the trees remain, 

 the best practice would probably be to pull 

 them all out and start a young orchard. 



5. Character of soil. The apple thrives 

 well on a great variety of soils, varying 

 from sandy loam to heavy clay, providing 

 it is well drained and otherwise well cared 

 for. The chances for success are much 

 better, however, where the orchard to be 

 renovated is located on sandy or gravelly 

 loam, or even clay loam, than where lo- 

 cated on either light sand or heavy clay. 



6. Exposure. Many of the older or- 

 chards are on "bottom lands" along the 

 valleys, where they are more likely to be 

 affected by late spring frosts, as also are 

 those located on the southern slopes. 

 Others are found on sites exposed to the 

 strong west winds, where much loss is 

 often occasioned by the fruit being blown 

 off. Again orchards are often found on 

 cold, springy hillsides where the soil does 

 not warm up readily in the spring. Such 

 a condition, however, may be improved 

 by either surface ditching or underdrain- 

 ing. The renovation of such orchards, 

 will prove less satisfactory than of those 

 located on a high and protected northern 

 or eastern well-drained slope. 



7. Presence of scale. The control of the 

 San .Jose scale in old apple orchards is a 

 difficult problem, and requires unusual per- 

 severance and determination on the part 

 of the grower. Unless one has had exper- 

 ience in controlling the scale in apple or- 

 chards, it probably would be unwise to 

 undertake the renovation of a scale-in- 

 fested orchard. By severely cutting back 

 the branches, by scraping off all rough 

 bark, and by repeated sprayings one is 

 likely to succeed, but it is certainly very 

 expensive and discouraging work, at the 

 best. 



8. Varieties. The question of varieties. 

 while by no means the least important 

 factor in successful renovation, is con- 

 sidered last, for the reason that this Is 

 a fault that may often be corrected by 



top-grafting. If, however, an orchard is 

 made up of a large percentage of unde- 

 sirable varieties, it might better be used 

 to increase the size of the wood pile, for 

 it is a long, tedious, and expensive job 

 to graft over large apple trees. 



In summing up, then, we may say that 

 success in renovating neglected apple or- 

 chards depends upon the age, shape, stand 

 and vigor of the trees; upon the location of 

 the orchard with regard to soil, altitude 

 and exposure; and, most of all, upon the 

 attitude of the man. 



How to Proceed 



As no two orchards are just alike, each 

 will require special treatment, and, for 

 this reason, it is impossible to lay down 

 any hard and fast rules to be followed 

 in all cases of orchard renovation. While 

 it is true that in some orchards particu- 

 lar attention should be given to one or 

 more phases of the renovating process, 

 the best results will come from giving 

 the ver.v best treatment all along the 

 line. After going to the expense of culti- 

 vation and fertilization it would be a 

 short-sighted policy to allow the apples 

 to be eaten up by worms or to be disfig- 

 ured by disease. 



Orchard renovation is necessarily a re- 

 juvenating process and the treatment, 

 with some modification, is the same as 

 that required for a young orchard. The 

 trees, after being stimulated into activity, 

 are maintained in a healthy condition by 

 regular methods of tilling, feeding, prun- 

 ing and spraying. 



Having decided that the orchard is 

 worth renovating, the trees should be 

 given a general awakening. The severity 

 of treatment will depend largely upon 

 the condition of the trees. The index to 

 the health of a tree is the amount of an- 

 nual growth, which with a normal tree 

 is from 6 to 18 inches. The spur-like 

 growth, usually observed on neglected 

 trees denotes a lack of vigor. When the 

 annual growth at the ends of the twigs 

 is small, or not more than one or two 

 inches, the treatment should be more se- 

 vere in every way, than when the yearly 

 growth exceeds this amount. 



