140 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



In one of the above sentences my stenographer made a mis- 

 take and wrote of sod-mulch, "a cheat way of growing 

 apples." On the showing of the above syllogism I am willing 

 to let the mistake stand. The man who practices cheap 

 methods too often cheats himself. 



We are now ready for direct evidence as to the relative 

 values of tillage and sod-mulch for the apple. How do the 

 systems of management pan out in a commercial orchard? 

 The orchard in which the Geneva Station has for four sea- 

 sons tried the two methods is located on the farm of Mr. W. 

 D. Auchter at South Greece, New York. The orchard con- 

 sists of ten acres of Baldwin trees thirty years old, five acres 

 tilled, five acres in sod. The soil is a medium heavy clay 

 loam, rich, and containing enough gravel to make it porous. 

 It was selected as typical of the average orchard soil of 

 Western New York. The experiment being carried on is a. 

 broader one than a simple trial of tillage and sod-mulch. The 

 experimenters hope to add something to what is now known 

 about the food and drink of trees — how trees take them in,, 

 make use of them, and with what effects; what influence soil 

 temperature and soil ventilation have on the development and 

 function of tree roots ; and, among still other problems, what 

 the relationships between grass and the apple may be. 



It should be said, too, that the experiment is to run ten 

 years at least, and that the results now given do not cover 

 half the minimum period and are, therefore, in some respects 

 inconclusive and superficial. For instance, the discussion 

 now centers aroimd the yield of fruit. While of course the 

 crop is the ultimate criterion of orchard treatment, yet the 

 effect upon the tree as indicated by the leaf, wood and root 

 development, is quite as important an index of the value of 

 tree treatment as the crop of fruit. 



The care of the two plats in the Auchter orchard has 

 been as follows : The tilled plat is plowed in the spring and 

 cultivated from four to six times, ending the cultivation about 

 August first, at which time a cover crop of barley, oats or 

 clover is sow^n. On the sod-mulch plat, the grass is cut once 

 or twice during the season and allowed to lie where cut and 



