142 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Another fruit grower says, in a printed statement, that 

 "it would have been a fairer test if the grass had been cut 

 earher — twice during the season and raked and piled under 

 the spread of the trees, instead of all over the ground." In 

 reply, we can say that in two of the four years the experi- 

 ment has been running, the grass was cut twice and without 

 at all lessening the deleterious effect of the sod-mulch treat- 

 ment on the trees. I am sure that this man is wrong in 

 advising that the grass be "raked and piled under the trees." 

 The roots of the trees in the Auchter orchard intermingle at 

 all points, as they do in most old orchards, and a mulch should 

 therefore cover the whole ground. 



The ultimate criterion of the relative merits of the man- 

 agement to which an orchard is subjected is the crops of 

 fruit obtained. It is important, however, that trees should 

 grow well, and for the measure of vigor there are several 

 characters of the trees available; as the leaf area on the tree, 

 the length of new wood formed, the number of new shoots 

 and the color of leaf and wood. The properties of the fruit, 

 as size, color, time of maturity, keeping qualities and flavor, 

 must be noted. We come now to a discussion of these 

 criteria. 



The eft"ects of the two methods of management on yield 

 of fruit are shown by the following figures : — 



Bbls. Bbls. 



Sod. Tillage. 



1904 615.1 591.9 



1905 233 278.9 



1906 210.3 531.1 



1907 275 424.3 



Average yield per acre on the plats for the four years: 

 Sod, 66.6 barrels; tillage, 91.3 barrels; difference in favor of 

 tillage, per acre, 24.7 barrels. These results scarcely need 

 comment. For an average of four years the tilled plat shows 

 an increase of a little over one-fourth above the sod-mulch 

 plat. The figures first read show that each succeeding year 

 the difference becomes greater, indicating a continuous loss 

 of vigor in the sod-mulch trees. 



