42 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Soils. The best soil in Wayne County for apple production is 

 a brown gravelly loam, rather loose in character and underlain 

 with heavier gravelly loam. It is fair to conclude, however, that 

 "while the kind of soil is important in this locality, it is evi- 

 dently not the most important factor in apple production and is 

 not as important as the kind of treatment that the soil receives. 

 The kind of care required varies with the soil. The Miami silt 

 loam will doubtless produce a good crop with less manure than 

 is required on any of the other types. The Miami stony loam is 

 next strongest. The other types require larger applications of 

 manure, but give good results when so treated. These latter are 

 more open and are more in need of humus. The soil with the 

 bed rock near the surface is entirely unsuited to apples. For the 

 best production of apples there should be at least six feet of 

 well-drained soil in every part of the orchard." 



JDrainage. This is a subject of the greatest importance with a 

 perennial crop like the apple. 



" Zosses caused by lack of drainage. Of the 1,773 J acres of 

 orchard land in Walworth, a township in Wayne Co., only 182 

 acres have any kind of under drainage. Most of these have only 

 a stone drain or two in a particularly wet place. A few have tile 

 drains. Fifty-four orchards, aggregating 232 acres, are reported 

 as in need of drainage. This means that, in the opinion of the 

 inspector, some tile drainage would pay. The average yield of 

 these 54 orchards in 1902 was 203 bushels, 42 bushels below the 

 average of the other orchards in this town. Of the 1,987^ acres 

 inspected in the remainder of the county, 317 acres have some 

 underdrains, but 831 acres need drainage in whole or in part." 



A82yect. In Wayne County this seems to be a factor of some 

 importance. "The easterly slopes in Walworth gave a larger 

 yield each of the past four years than have the westerly slopes. 

 The difference in 1902 was 23 bushels per acre in favor of 

 the easterly slopes. In each of the other years the difference 

 was greater. The north part of the county does not show this 

 marked uniform difference. The differences are greater than one 

 would expect. In each of the four years the northeast slopes 

 have exceeded the northwest, the east have exceeded the west ; 

 the only exceptions are that in two cases the southeast have failed 



