80 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ami declares in vigorous language, that there is uo money in dairying. 

 Would you not laugh in his face or to spare his feelings, change the sub- 

 ject? Look at home. In the treatment of j'our orchard are you not mak- 

 ing the same mistake? Probably not one orchard in ten has half the food 

 it really needs and the grass is taking a large share of this, together with 

 the moisture which the tree can ill aftord to spare during our summer 

 drouths. It is a parallel case and we would do well to study it. In most 

 soils we do not believe it possible to obtain good returns from the orchard 

 and at the same time carrj- off a heavy crop of grass each year. Much 

 better would it be to keep the grass very short with sheep, or still better 

 by allowing the pigs to destroy the entire turf and work in a little ferti- 

 lizer each year. A heavy mulch, sufficient to kill the grass might be 

 preferred, if enough could be obtained. Few people are aware how far 

 the roots extend and are apt to be satisfied with covering a small surface 

 beneath the tree. It is frequeutlj' said that the roots of trees extend as 

 far as the top, when in fact in good soil they extend twice as far, and in 

 poor soil thej- run much longer distances in search of food. As the roots 

 run so much deeper in the well cultivated soil it is at once apparent that 

 in cases of severe drouth such trees will suffer less than those which are 

 mulched in the manner which is commonh- practiced. 



Where the land is plowed and the surface frequently stirred, the roots 

 are far below the surface, and with the mulch of loose, dry soil to pre- 

 vent the waste of moisture we have the most perfect condition attainable. 

 It is not necessary that the trees should occupy the whole ground while 

 small, but it will be better for the land to be covered with some crop like 

 beans or peas if the ground is stirred often between the rows and suffi- 

 cient fertilizer is used for the support of both plants and trees. 



Few people are aware of the amount of fertilizing material needed in 

 the bearing orchard. It has been shown by careful experimenting that 

 much more is required than for a crop of wheat. An acre of orcharding 

 in full bearing will take annualh^ from $15 to $25 worth of fertilizer from 

 the soil. 



If the trees fail to give good returns after being well fed, let us look 

 further. First, to destro}' the insect enemies. The bark louse, the bud 

 moth, the leaf roller, the borers, and some others cannot be kept in 

 check simply by the asking. While the fungus diseases which are doing 

 so much damage in a moist season will still continue to ruin the fruit of 

 those who will not take the pains to apply some remedy. 



The advent of the spraying pump will, no doubt, prove to be a great 

 boon to the progressive orchardist, and while insects and diseases will 

 ruin the fruit of the ueglegent, they will serve to clear the market, and 

 those who hftve choice apples will be well repaid for the extra trouble 

 required to keep thera free from their enemies. It is impossible to tell in 

 the early part of the season whether the fruit is likely to be injured by 

 the apple scab, but we should spraj'^ as a matter of insurance for the 

 scab, and it will not all be lost time, as we can add the arsenites at the 

 proper time for the insects which like the poor "we always have with us." 



