42 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



THE NEW ORCHARD. 



PROF. P. C. SEARS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



Doubtless many in the audience are familiar with the 

 Bay Road Fruit Farm, which is " The New Orchard " re- 

 ferred to in the title on our program, but it may be worth 

 while for the benefit of those who are not, to state that it is 

 an orchard at Amherst which was started in 1908 by Pro- 

 fessor Waugh and myself, and which now comprises about 

 125 acres. 



It is not my purpose to discuss all the problems that have 

 come up in the development of this orchard, but rather to 

 select a few of the more important, and those which are likely 

 to be of more general interest. 



First, a few words in regard to the character of the planta- 

 tions which have been set. Many fruit growers consider 

 that one line of fruit is sufficient, such as apples or peaches, 

 and some even go so far as to say that if one is growing 

 apples, a single variety, or two at the outside, will give the 

 most profitable returns. As a general proposition this is 

 probably true. It reduces the number of questions about 

 which the owner must have expert knowledge, and allows 

 him to concentrate on a few lines ; and every one will agree 

 that the profits from many orchards have been reduced owing 

 to the multiplication of varieties. But it has seemed to us 

 that there was another and very important side to the ques- 

 tion, and that is the better distribution of the labor required 

 where one plants several varieties of any fruit and several 

 different kinds of fruit. For example, if a man ties up to 

 the Baldwin apple, which all will agree is the most profit- 

 able single variety of any fruit, he has three or four seasons 

 of the year during which he is rushed with work. These 



