34 BULLETIN 140, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGKICULTUKE. 



good are obtained under such methods, the opportunities for the 

 higher profits better care would bring are noteworthy. While simi- 

 lar roadside planting of trees is found in some of the noncommercial 

 sections of New York, the custom is not so general there, nor are 

 the results as a rule so satisfactory. In the heavy producing sec- 

 tions of New York large commercial plantings are the prominent 

 feature, and the secondarj^ plantings are of little importance. 



The leading orchardists in southern New England use an annual 

 application of commercial fertilizers in connection with a cover 

 crop, or as a supplement to stable manure. Formerly mixed goods 

 were used, but now many buy chemicals. There is much variation 

 in the combination used. Basic slag is just now in popular favor 

 and large quantities are used. Some acid phosphate is also used, 

 but ground phosphate rock as a substitute is replacing it to some 

 extent. Ground bone is preferred by some growers and tankage 

 is in common use. The nitrates of soda or potash are employed 

 as a source of ammonia when quick results are required. Potash 

 is used in several forms — low -grade sulphate, high-grade sulphate, 

 muriate, and kainit. The amounts used by different orchardists 

 vary greatly and no attempt was made to cover the practice in a sys- 

 tematic way. 



These different types of orchard distribution are brought out in 

 Plates VII, VIII, and IX, which show the character of planting in 

 Coleraine and Leominster, Mass., and in Parma, N. Y. 



USUAL TYPE OF FARM-ORCHARD DEVELOPMENT IN MASSACHU- 

 SETTS AND IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 



The character of orchard distribution in a town typical of central 

 Massachusetts is shown in the map of Leominster. (PI. VIII.) The 

 western part of the town is so hilly and rough that there is little 

 orcharding or farming. The rest of the town constitutes a good 

 farming and fruit section. With general farming, some dairying, 

 and a little trucking, apples are an important money crop in pro- 

 portion to the land given over to orcharding, as appears in the 

 census of production shown elsewhere, Leominster being in the group 

 of towns that produce between 25,000 and 40,000 bushels of apples 

 annually. There are no large commercial orchards, but there are a 

 few of moderate size and many small ones. 



On the sketch map the blocks of orchard are drawn to approxi- 

 mate scale and each dot represents 10 apple trees. 



In parts of both States, but principally in Litchfield County, 

 Conn., and that part of Massachusetts west of the Connecticut 

 River, apples have long constituted an important money crop in con- 

 junction with live-stock farming. Coleraine, Mass., is one of the 



