306 
in the vacant spaces, nor is it satisfactory 
to start young trees in an old orchard. 
When the trees to be renovated are along 
the roadside or a line fence, the vacancy 
factor may be ignored. In orchards where 
less than 60 per cent of the trees remain, 
the best practice would probably be to pull 
them all out and start a young orchard. 
5. Character of soil. The apple thrives 
well on a great variety of soils, varying 
from sandy loam to heavy clay, providing 
it is well drained and otherwise well cared 
for. The chances for success are much 
better, however, where the orchard to be 
renovated is located on sandy or gravelly 
loam, or even clay loam, than where lo- 
cated on either light sand or heavy clay. 
6. Exposure. Many of the older or- 
chards are on “bottom lands’ along the 
valleys, where they are more likely to be 
affected by late spring frosts, as also are 
those located on the southern slopes. 
Others are found on sites exposed to the 
strong west winds, where much loss is 
often occasioned by the fruit being blown 
off. Again orchards are often found on 
cold, springy hillsides where the soil does 
not warm up readily in the spring. Such 
a condition, however, may be improved 
by either surface ditching or underdrain- 
ing. The renovation of such orchards, 
will prove less satisfactory than of those 
located on a high and protected northern 
or eastern well-drained slope. 
7. Presence of scale. The control of the 
San Jose scale in old apple orchards is a 
difficult problem, and requires unusual per- 
severance and determination on the part 
of the grower. Unless one has had exper- 
ience in controlling the scale in apple or- 
chards, it probably would be unwise to 
undertake the renovation of a scale-in- 
fested orchard. By severely cutting back 
the branches, by scraping off all rough 
bark, and by repeated sprayings one is 
likely to succeed, but it is certainly very 
expensive and discouraging work, at the 
best. 
8. Varieties, The question of varieties, 
while by no means the least important 
factor in successful renovation, is con- 
sidered last, for the reason that this is 
a fault that may often be corrected by 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
top-grafting. If, however, an orcharq is 
made up of a large percentage of unde. 
Sirable varieties, it might better be useq 
to increase the size of the wood pile, for 
it is a long, tedious, and expensive job 
to graft over large apple trees. 
In summing up, then, we may say that 
Success in renovating neglected apple or. 
chards depends upon the age, shape, stand 
and vigor of the trees; upon the location of 
the orchard with regard to soil, altitude 
and exposure; and, most of all, upon the 
attitude of the man. 
How to Proceed 
As no two orchards are just alike, each 
will require special treatment, and, for 
this reason, it is impossible to lay down 
any hard and fast rules to be followed 
in all cases of orchard renovation. While 
it is true that in some orchards particu- 
lar attention should be given to one or 
more phases of the renovating process, 
the best results will come from giving 
the very best treaiment all along the 
line, After going to the expense of culti- 
vation and fertilization it would be a 
short-sighted policy to allow the apples 
to be eaten up by worms or to be disfig- 
ured by disease. 
Orchard renovation is necessarily a re- 
juvenating process and _ the treatment, 
with some modification, is the same as 
that required for a young orchard. The 
trees, after being stimulated into activity, 
are maintained in a healthy condition by 
regular methods of tilling, feeding, prun- 
ing and spraying. 
Having decided that the orchard is 
worth renovating, the trees should be 
given a general awakening. The severity 
of treatment will depend largely upon 
the condition of the trees. The index to 
the health of a tree is the amount of an- 
nual growth, which with a normal tree 
is from 6 to 18 inches. The spur-like 
growth, usually observed on neglected 
trees denotes a lack of vigor. When the 
annual growth at the ends of the twigs 
is small, or not more than one or two 
inches, the treatment should be more se- 
vere in every way, than when the yearly 
growth exceeds this amount. 
