36 



A. Not these figures, though of course, our future resuhs may 

 be different. I cannot predict what is going to happen in the future ; 

 but you know most people tell you that the main reason for tillage 

 is to conserve moisture. The mulch in the most trying season, has 

 conserved moisture better than tillage ; and when I say mulch did it, 

 I mean a real mulch, not an imitation of one. 



Q. How many tons of straw did it require to cover an acre? 



A. Three tons to the acre annually is the amount we are using. 



Q. How old are those trees? 



A. Seven to sixteen years of age — one orchard seven, one 

 twelve to fifteen, one sixteen. The age of the trees is to be consid- 

 ered, as well as the amount of mulch and its extent from the trees. 



Prof. Stewart. Notice here, that even on the mature orchard, 

 where the mulch did not completely cover the roots of the trees, we 

 have the size of the apples averaging a little greater than on the tilled 

 portions. Can you explain this ? 



C. J. Tyson. How about the relative yield of fruit? 



Prof. Stewart. Yes, that's it. The much larger crop on the 

 tilled part kept down the size of the individual fruits. 



Q. What effect has sod mulch on the bearing of fruit ? 



A. It seems to hasten the bearing habit. 



Q. How do you know how to strike a limiter ? 



A. It demands experiment — actual trial. There is no other 

 way that I know to do it. If you have to hire a man and pay him 

 double wages for the time required to carefully experiment in one 

 corner of your orchard, you will profit by it in the long run. You 

 have to ask the trees themselves. The limiter is different in different 

 places. No question about it, it must be found and corrected to get 

 the best results. 



Q. Will any fertilizer reach the growing crop ? 



A. No; you may be able to affect the crop of the following 

 year. Nothing will reach the growing crop. 



Q. Nitrogen will, won't it? 



A. Of course it will affect the foliage, but not the amount of 

 fruit. 



ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS IN FRUIT 

 GROWING. 



Mr. Albert T. R^pp, President Nezv Jersey State Horticultural So- 

 ciety, Glasshoro, N. J. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Members of the 

 Adams County Horticultural Society: I see that I am on the pro- 

 gram for "Essential Elements of Success in Fruit Growing." One 

 of our successes in New Jersey is the fighting of insects of the apple. 

 In a practical way, we may talk on different methods used in differ- 

 ent sections. When I attended a meeting last winter I visited a fruit 

 farm where I saw the fruit grower trimming his trees in a way 

 which looked very much to me as if he was ruining his orchard by 

 his hard trimming. Some time ago I received a letter from him 

 stating that he had received as high as six dollars per tree from a 



