l88 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I905. 



cultivated areas. The average growth of the same trees for the 

 past two years has been as follows : 

















- 



s 



s 1. 



Variety. 



Treatment. 



Growth 

 inches; 

 unfcrtlli 



Growth 

 inches; 

 stable 

 manure. 



Growth 

 inches; 

 coninioi 

 fertilize 







1904. 



1905. 



19&4. 



1905. 



1904. 



1905. 



{ 



CultiTated .... 



3-43 



3i-5 



4-5^ 



4 -6 



3|-5| 



ii-Gh 



Gravenstein ...I 

















I 



Mulched 



3|-5i 



21-4 



oh-n 



7 -9 



24-4 



Bh-6 



Tolman v 



Cultivated ... . 







5J-6J 



6h-8h 



3 — 4i 



5 —7 













( 



Mulched 



3|-5 



2 -4 



H-e 



4J-6I 



3 —5 



3 —5 



These figures, when compared with the preceding table, indi- 

 cate a decided falling off in the growth of the unfertilized trees, 

 especially in the uncultivated plat. On the fertilized plats a 

 part of this falling off in wood growth is of course due to the 

 fact of the annual crops of fruit which have been produced. 

 This reason is less applicable to the unfertilized trees, as they 

 have borne less regularly. The low average growth of Graven- 

 stein on the cultivated area as compared with the mulched trees, 

 is due to the injury to some of the trees, as before mentioned. 

 In the absence of injury, which was an individual matter, the 

 cultivated trees made a larger growth than the others, as may be 

 seen by referring to the tables on pages 185 and 186. 



THE QUESTION OF YIELDS. 



In 1902, the first bearing year of this young orchard, the 

 following results — irrespective of fertilizers — were obtained : 



Gravenstein — Cultivated, 19 bearing trees, averaging .72 bbl. 

 per tree ; mulched, 14 bearing trees, averaging . 59 bbl. per tree. 



Tolman — Cultivated, 9 bearing trees, averaging .44 bbl. per 

 tree; mulched, 6 bearing trees, averaging .50 bbl. per tree. 



In case of the Gravenstein, there was a decided difference both 

 in number of bearing trees and in average yield per tree in favor 

 of cultivation. With the Tolman the difference was less marked. 



It is planned to keep an exact record of the yield of each tree 

 in the orchard every year. By accident, however, the records 

 of the Gravensteins were unsatisfactory for a part of the time, 

 and there is given below only the record of the Tolmans. 



