CHAPTER XVI 



RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS 



IN all the older orchard-growing sections of the country 

 there are many old orchards which have been neglected for 

 years and are practically worthless as they stand, sometimes 

 worse than useless, since they harbor every imaginable pest, and 

 yet which may be brought back into vigor and made to grow 

 fine crops of fruit if rightly handled. Orchards have been 

 changed from absolute worthlessness into thrifty growth and 

 remunerative crops in from two to three years. So easily and 

 quickly can this change be made that an old orchard, which is 

 not in too bad condition, offers better and quicker returns than 

 the setting of a new orchard. It seems worth while, therefore, to 

 devote a chapter to this subject, since in many respects it is 

 quite different from ordinary orcharding. 



Is Cutting Down Better than Renovation? There are cases 

 so bad that the best thing to do is to cut down the trees and put 

 them on the wood-pile. It may be remarked in passing that they 

 make fine wood for an open fire-place. Anyone who has not 

 used well-seasoned apple wood in his fire-place has something to 

 look forward to. The first question to decide, therefore, is 

 whether the orchard is sufficiently promising to warrant the 

 necessary outlay to bring it back into good condition again or 

 whether it should be used for fire-wood. Of course it is im- 

 possible to make rigid generalizations on the subject, for so much 

 depends on the owner and the farm. 



Age and Vigor. There are three or four considerations 

 which seem to be of special importance and which would apply 

 to almost any case. The first of these is the age and vigor of the 

 trees (Fig. 99). The younger they are the better, because the 

 owner has just so many more crops to look forward to. Trees 

 up to fifty years are certainly worth considering if they are 

 thrifty. Trees of seventy-five or one hundred years are some- 

 times seen that should be considered by no means hopeless. 

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