602 Renovation of Neglected Orchards. [Oct., 



of the schools will be the opportunity thus afforded for those 

 attending the different lectures to meet together in a friendly 

 manner and discuss the subjects of the lectures and the future 

 of the movement. 



Shorthand notes of lectures and discussions will be taken, 

 from which a report will be made, and will doubtless prove 

 of great interest and value to all workers in the Women's 

 Institute movement as well as to others interested in the 

 improvement of rural life. 



Many acres of orchard land in England and Wales have 



fallen into a deplorable state of decay. The causes of unprofit- 



- ableness are many. Some are bevond 

 Renovation of _ , A , • , . . * 



•*t i 3. j j remedv, but others are preventable, and 



Neglected Orchards. £ . . 1 , 1 . . 



tru it-growers would be serving their own 



interests as well as the interests of the country if they made a 

 serious attempt to bring neglected orchards back to productive- 

 ness; but the work must be undertaken with judgment. It 

 is not commercially sound to restore plantations and orchards 

 which have become unprofitable owing to extreme old age, 

 stunted growth, or severe damage caused by live stock, careless 

 staking, or grease-banding without paper. On the other hand, 

 many dilapidated plantations and orchards may be restored to 

 fruit-fulness if their unsatisfactory state is due to lack of 

 pruning, proper cultivation, or neglect to control insect and 

 fungus pests. Even if the trees are unsuited to the locality, 

 or bear fruit of poor market quality, much may be done, and 

 done speedily, by judicious top-grafting. The results of 

 renovation may become apparent even so early as the year 

 following the first application of remedial measures, but as a 

 general rule careful treatment is requried for several seasons 

 before badly neglected or otherwise unfruitful trees are brought 

 back to full bearing. 



Renovation falls into two sets of operations. These are: — • 



(1) Thinning overcrowded plantations by judicious 

 pruning, top-grafting, manuring and general cultivation. 



(2) Cleaning the trees and controlling insect and fungus- 

 pests by winter washing and summer spraying. 



To remedy overcrowding, alternate trees should first be " cut- 

 in " hard each year, and, later, after several seasons have, 

 elapsed, " grubbed up " to give the permanent trees sufficient 

 room for growth. Plantations and orchards which have 



