STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



After the meeting had been called to order by the President, Mr. 

 S. R. Leland of Mt. Baldwin Farm, Farmington, was introduced, 

 who read the following paper : 



HOW I HAVE PROTECTED MY ORCHARD FROM THE RAV- 

 AGES OF MICE AND BORERS. 

 By S. R. Lelanu. 



I think pomologisls agree that there are more fruit trees destroyed 

 by mice and borers in Maine than by all other causes combined, and 

 any methods that tend to prevent or even diminish the destruction 

 of our orchards by these pests, from whatever source obtained, is 

 perhaps worthy of a careful trial. In relating ray experience in 

 protecting trees from mice and borers, and the marked success I 

 have met with, I by no means claim that the same methods would 

 be followed by the same results in all soils and situations, particu- 

 larly in relation to the borer. I shall be compelled to use the 

 personal pronoun in this paper oftener than I like, for w^hich you will 

 please pardon me, as it is unavoidable in describing my own doings. 



My orchard is situated on a ridge running north and south, and 

 extends down to wet land to the west and through the easterh' 

 part of it is a narrow swale that drains a muck swamp lying in tlie 

 N. E. corner of the orchard. These wet lands are just where mice 

 delight to live. When I commenced setting trees the land was 

 newly cleared, in grass, covered with decaying stumps, lots of 

 stones, uneven, with knolls and hollows, and seemingly a more in- 

 viting home for mice could not exist. I commenced my orchard in 

 the spring of 1869 by setting one hundred trees. In the spring of 

 1870 I set more and in the last week in October of the same years I 

 set eighty-five trees, of which I lost nearly all. In 1871 and 72, I 

 enlarged m^- orchard to three hundred and fifty trees. Up to this 

 time I had done nothing to protect my trees from mice except an 

 application of ashes once a 3'ear, as I will explain later on. The 

 year 1872 was what is known in this section as the "■sorrel 3"ear.'» 

 My land, having been newly cleared, bore an immense crop of 

 sorrel, with so little grass with it that I didn't esteem it worth 



