20 BULLETIN 851, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



other things being equal, the seed is sown earlier than in a dry 

 season. 



One hundred and thirty-two, or 60 per cent of the growers, sowed 

 cover crops ; 85 of this number sowed the entire orchard every year ; 

 11 every other year. The remainder sowed cover in a portion of 

 their orchard each year, or seeded all the orchard once in two to five 

 years, allowing the cover crop to remain down for a short period. 



Forty-three of these growers used clover alone and 26 buckwheat. 

 Forty-seven used a combination of cover crops, 36 of this number 

 using clover as one part of the combination. 



A man will usually broadcast between 15 to 20 acres in 10 hours. 

 The average of 118 growers for sowing broadcast was 17 acres per 

 day at a labor cost per acre of about 14 cents. After a cover crop is 

 sown it is usually the practice to harrow it in. Where a team and 

 man are used for this purpose the average cost per acre is about 50 

 cents. 



PRUNING. 



Pruning is done annually by 77 per cent of the growers considered 

 in this investigation ; 60 per cent prune their entire orchards each 

 year. 



Pruning is usually done during the winter or early spring months 

 before any tree growth has taken place. Growers who prune each 

 j-ear usually follow an open-head system on the winter varieties such 

 as Baldwin, Khode Island Greening, and Tompkins King. Ways of 

 pruning differ slightly with each variety, and each tree presents a 

 problem of its own. With most varieties annual pruning means the 

 general thinning-out of the tree, all dead wood and interfering limbs 

 being removed. The Twenty-Ounce and Northern Spy are handled 

 differently on account of the nature of their growth. The Twenty- 

 Ounce is not pruned with the open head because of danger of sun 

 scald of the main limbs, which is often followed by the New York 

 tree canker, which kills the main limbs, and eventually the tree. The 

 Northern Spy is usually allowed to take its own course with little 

 or no pruning. 



There are some differences in pruning practice among the several 

 counties. About 70 per cent of the growers in Wayne and Ontario 

 Counties pruned their entire orchards each year, while in Orleans 

 and Niagara Counties less than 50 per cent followed this practice. 

 This difference may be due partly to the fact that the latter growers 

 have other tree fruits (Table IV) that require their attention, such 

 as the peach, pear, and cherry. Many believe that priming every 

 other year reduces the annual wood growth and is the better method. 



