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held together by the matted roots of grass and other vege- 

 tation. The type of sod is very variable; it may consist of 

 orchard grass, clover, timothy, blue grass, and in many cases 

 a general mixture of grasses and weeds. In many of the Vir- 

 ginia orchards it is practically necessary to keep the or- 

 chard in sod. Many orchards are located on land that is 

 steep and rough and the surface soil would be rapidly washed 

 away if tillage were practiced regularly. It is almost nec- 

 essary to keep vegetation on the land in order to hold the 

 soil. These sod orchards are handled in various waysj some 

 growers cut the grass and remove it as hay. Others pasture 

 the orchard. I was interested to note that one man has a 

 poultry ranch in his orchard. I am of the opinion that the 

 poultry business will make a good combination with apple 

 growing, and I hope more of our fruit growers will give at- 

 tention to this matter. Many growers simply have their or- 

 chards in sod without touching them in any way, shape, or 

 form. There are 14.08 per cent of the bearing orchards in 

 sod. 



2. Sod Mulch . - This term signifies the seeding of 

 the land to grass and clover and mowing the same once or 

 twice during the summer, leaving the cut grass to lie as a 

 mulch under and around the trees. In contrast with this 

 term we have the term "mulch", which consists in covering 



