6 N. H. Agricultural Experiment Station [Bulletin 257 



Planting: distances varied somewhat, but most of the plantings ten to 

 twenty years old were set out 20 x 20, or about 108 trees to the acre. 

 This was done with the expectation of takino; out 54 trees at 18 to 20 

 years (fillers') and 27 more trees at 25 years (semi-permanent trees) 

 leaving- 27 permanent trees per acre. Some of the more recent plant- 

 ings were made on the quincunx system with 54 trees to the acre, half 

 of which would be cut out at 25 years. One block had been set 30 x 30. 



The bearing orchards were mostly in sod mulch, and in general there 

 seemed no difficulty in securing vigorous tree growth by that system. 

 "With well distributed rainfall and low evaporation, the system seems 

 practical and in at least three orchards the land was rocky and rough 

 enough to make cultivation impractical. While most of the sites were 

 developed fi'om former tillage fields, on two of the farms old pasture 

 land and brush land had been redeemed for the orchard. 



7435 



21 25 26 30 31-35 

 Age of Trees 



3&-40 



46-50 



Fig. 1. Trees on all faiins classified by age groups as of 1927 

 Here, as is often the case in New Hampshire, the old farm orchards have 

 sewed as nuclei around which extensive new plantings have been built up. 

 These twelve men have a slightly higher proportion of young trees than the 



average New Hampshire orchardist. 



UNITS OF MEASUREMENT FOR COMPARING SIZE OF 



ORCHARDS 



Studies of fruit production have usually assumed two stages; grow- 

 ing the trees and then producing the fruit. The eo.sts and manage- 

 ment problems are thus considiM-ed up to the tenth year as related to 

 tree production, and the problems after that as related to fruit pro- 

 duction. 



Yet it has seemed to the authors of this study that the biological 

 life cycle of the apple tree cannot be ignored. The tree is set out and 

 carefully nurtured for .several years; it begins to bear, lightl}' at first 

 but gradually increasing up to full bearing and then gradually de- 

 clining in yield. At what stage in this biological process can the tree 

 be considered as grown? 



