558 Apple Growing in New York State, [dec. 



tions on this scale can be undertaken. An experiment in this 

 direction was made in the United States in 1903, when a survey 

 of the apple orchards of Wayne County, New York, was under- 

 taken on behalf of the Cornell Experiment Station. An in- 

 teresting Report on the results has been prepared by Mr. G. F. 

 Warren, by whom much of the work was carried out, which, in 

 addition to giving us a broad picture of the industry in this 

 part of the State, serves to indicate the success or otherwise 

 which has attended different methods of orchard management. 

 Three districts were selected, and a minute examination of the 

 orchards in each was carried out ; in one every orchard as large 

 as an acre was examined, and in nearly every case the owner 

 was asked to furnish particulars as to varieties, age, methods of 

 cultivation, spraying, yield, prices, &c. In the other two districts 

 every orchard as large as ten acres and also a number of smaller 

 ones were examined. 



In the first place, it may be noted that New York State 

 contained, according to the Census of 1900, some 15,000,000 

 apple trees of bearing age, and took the leading place as an 

 apple-producing State. Wayne County itself contained some 

 796,000 trees, occupying approximately 19,000 acres, and since 

 then the area has increased by 2,000 acres. The last few years, 

 it is stated, have seen a rapid improvement in orchard manage- 

 ment. Ten years ago orchards were quite commonly considered 

 to be an unprofitable investment, but a gradual improvement 

 has been taking place, and has been reflected in the increased 

 profits, until apples are now looked upon as one of the principal 

 money-producing crops of the county. 



Comparative Yields of Cultivated and Grass Orchards. — About 

 70 per cent, of the orchard area was in grass, and only 30 per 

 cent, cultivated. The comparative yield in bushels, taking the 

 average of four years (1900-1903), under the different methods 

 was as follows : — 



Bushels. 



Tilled for five years or more 266 



Tilled most years ... . ... 229 



Grass most years, tilled occasionally 202 



Grass for five years or more 148 



It will be seen that the tilled orchards have given a uniformly 

 larger yield than those in grass, the four-year average being 80 



