176 POMOLOGY 



from the work are as follows: The trees growing in sod 

 have not yielded sufficiently well to warrant the use of the 

 land for orcharding. Tillage every other year resulted in 

 decided benefit to the trees. Clean cultivation, without 

 the use of green-crops, has proved successful in the recla- 

 mation of a run-down orchard, increasing the yield nearly 100 

 per cent. It has shown evidence, however, that it could 

 not be continued for a long period of time as the trees were 

 not quite so vigorous at the end of a ten-year period as at 

 the completion of the first five years. Tillage with cover- 

 crops has proved to be a slightly better system than clean 

 tillage alone. For yields of these plots see page 206. 



145. Cultivation for the peach. — What has been said 

 in regard to tillage applies with particular force to the peach. 

 In fact, it is doubtful whether the peach will ever do as well 

 under any other system as under cultivation. Most soil 

 experiments with this fruit include fertilizers and are hence 

 treated in the next chapter. Ralston ^ cites some work 

 however, confirming the value of tillage for the peach. There 

 were 288 trees to the plot equally divided between Early 

 Crawford and Elberta. The trees were planted in 1 9 1 1 and the 

 data taken 1915-17, inclusive. The soil is described as a 

 ''very poor Cecil Clay which contains an abundance of small 

 pebbles and a small amount of loose shale, and is fairly uni- 

 form throughout." 



Table LII 

 results of cultural treatments 



YIELD OF FRUIT IN POUNDS TO A TREE FOR 3 YEARS. (AFTER RALSTON) 



Ralston, G. S. 23d Ann. Kept. Va. Hort. See. 1918. 



