January, '14] FERTILIZERS IN CULTIVATED ORCHARD. 17 



INFLUENCE OF CULTURE AND FERTILIZERS ON THE ORCHARD. 



The first practical consideration in such an experiment as is being here 

 considered is whether an increase in yield was secured. If an increased 

 production of the trees has been brought about it is cjuite essential to de- 

 termine what was limiting the yield previously and just how such results 

 can be duplicated. Now we have essentially three distinct types of treat- 

 ment included in this investigation, viz., 1st, growing trees in sod; 2d, grow- 

 ing trees under cultivation; and 3d, applying commercial fertilizers to trees 

 under cultivation. The latter two treatments are subdivided into various 

 modifications of these treatments. The results are striking and consistent 

 in practically all particulars revealing information that is of value. 



Table No. 3 gives a comparative tabulation for the results of the various 

 factors that have been considered, giving the sod plot an arbitrary value 

 of 100 as a basis. 



Table No. 4 presents a summary of the work for five years, giving the 

 average annual yield per tree. This yield is in terms of number of fruits 

 produced and not in weight (a). The yield in weight is given in Table 

 No. 5. 



It should be noted in Tables No. 7 to 18 that there are only two heavy 

 crops reported and the "off years" together with the low yield before the 

 treatment had taken effect show a very low yield per tree for the five-year 

 average (b). 



In looking over Table No. 4 it will be seen that the years 1910 and 1912 

 are the heavy bearing years out of the five which would indicate that 1908 

 was the year for a heavy crop. A glance at the following figures shows 

 this to be the case. 



Total number of apples in orchard, division rows included. 



1908 23,114 



1909 11,607 



1910 401,766 



1911 34,155 



1912 386,324 



These figures show that in 1908 there were twice as many apples harvested 

 from the orchard as in 1909. In 1911, however, the yield in the "off year" 

 has been materially increased and it is a noticeable fact that Plot 1 which 

 is in sod has the highest yield per tree, and similar results occurred again 

 in 1913. There is not the remarkable difference in Plot 1 between the 

 ' ' bearing ' ' and ' ' off years ' ' that is seen in the other plots under cultiva- 

 tion; it seems to be bearing more uniformly, but the average yield is quite 

 low. One cannot help but be impressed with the influence that the treat- 

 ments have had on the orchard as a whole. If 1908 was a typical yield for 

 the ' ' bearing ' ' year in this orchard, and there is no evidence to the contrary, 

 then an increase from 23,114 apples in 1908 to 401,766, or more than 17 

 times as many in 1910, and 386,324, or more than 16 times as many in 1912, 

 indicates a practice that might well be recommended. Just which one of 

 the several treatments has had the greatest influence is the important fact 

 to determine. 



DISCUSSION OF PLOTS. 



Plot 1. — The yield of Plot 1, which is in sod, has not materially changed 

 during the five years but the yield and also the trees themselves are far 

 outstripped by the adjoining plots under cultivation. As we see the 



(a) This investigation is primarily for another object in which the num- 

 ber of fruits set was of first importance and consequently the weight was 

 not recorded in the early period of the work. 



(b) This fact should be carefully noted and for the present bearing ca- 

 pacity of the trees the yields for 1910 and 1912 should be consulted. 



