80 ORCHARD CULTURE 



the trees are in sod or are cultivated. But with the commonly 

 accepted notions about cultivation and height of heading, the 

 contention is probably correct. Few people who have done the 

 work in an orchard fail to realize the value of the low tree. 



5. There is less washing on side hills. This is an argument 

 that appeals to the writer more strongly than almost any other. 

 There are thousands of acres all through the best apple growing 

 sections of the United States on land which is too steep to admit 

 of cultivation on account of the washing of the soil. If these 

 lands are to be used for orchards, and they are frequently better 

 adapted to orcharding than to any other purpose, they must 

 be kept in sod. 



6. The land is in better condition for the spring spraying 

 and pruning. In sections where a spring spraying is necessary, 

 as with San Jose scale, and where the weather of spring is 

 variable, as it is in most orchard countries, this is really an im- 

 portant advantage and will appeal to the man who has slopped 

 about in the mud in either spraying or pruning. It would not in 

 itself justify one in adopting the sod method, but it certainly 

 deserves some weight. It is sufficiently difficult to get really 

 satisfactoiy work in either pruning or spraying, and anything 

 that will assist will be welcomed by the man who has had 

 experience along these lines. 



7. The windfalls are kept in better condition. This is not of 

 much importance with winter apples, but with early varieties and 

 with pears it is frequently of decided importance. ]\Ien who 

 have sod-mulch orchards claim that their windfalls are practically 

 as valuable as the hand picked fruit and while the writer does 

 not accept this view entirely he does believe that a good soft 

 mulch is a great help. 



Some other claims are made, but those mentioned are really 

 the most important ones. Those which seem to have the most 

 weight are the prevention of washing on hillsides, the fact that 

 the fruit is likely to have better color and to keep longer, and 

 that the expense of caring for the orchard is less. Of course 

 the advocates of cultivation attempt to demolish tliis last argu- 

 ment by calling the sod method a cheap affair anyway and by 



