FRUIT-GROWING IN THE UNITED STATES 451 



The main characteristics of orchard methods in these various 

 apple-producing regions may be summed up as follows : 



i. Tillage. In the Coast Region, where the rainfall is heavy 

 and the soils usually rich in humus, there is less need of tillage to 

 conserve moisture than in the drier inland sections. However, 

 even under these conditions, which are especially favorable for 

 the neglect of tillage, it is 

 usually found that tilled or- 

 chards are far more profit- 

 able than sod orchards, 

 especially when the latter 

 are pastured. In some 

 sections of the Coast Re- 

 gion, however, there is 

 an increasing tendency to 

 adopt the mulching sys- 

 tem. It is believed that 

 this will become a stand- 

 ard system in the lowlands. 

 Some advocate seeding the 

 orchard to clover, which is 

 cut two or three years be- 

 fore the sod is plowed un- 

 der, and the orchard then 

 tilled one or two seasons 

 before being again seeded 

 to clover. There are 

 many orchard soils in the 

 Coast Region which need 

 thorough tillage as much 

 as any in the East, but it 



seems that some modification of the mulching system will often 

 be found satisfactory with apples, pears, and sweet cherries. 



Almost all of the irrigated orchards in the inland valleys have 

 clean tillage. In the early clays it was thought that tillage could be 

 neglected if the trees were irrigated often enough, but this was 

 soon found to be a great mistake. There is a growing tendency 

 to reduce the number of irrigations and to increase the number of 



Fig. 191. Eastern results with Western fruit 



A magnificent showing of Spitzenburg apples in 

 New York State, said to be not the environment for 

 the Spitzenburg. Fruit farm of Glenn H . Timplelougt, 



Sodus, New York. ( Tribune Fanner) 



