8i 



therefore, be no suitable jury to try new doctrine, and there are no 

 recognized authorities to approve or disapprove of them. It comes 

 about, therefore, that false and erroneous doctrines often grow un- 

 heeded and choke out the true and the useful. Agriculture needs 

 now and ever to be defended against false doctrine. I am ventur- 

 ing to play the part of a defender to-day and if I have gone far 

 in defense of tillage and in condemnation of sod-mulch it is because 

 there is need. 



C. J. Tyson. Has there been any possil^ility of advantage of 

 cover crops ? 



Mr, Hedrick. The tilled plot of the orchard has always been 

 well supplied with nitrogen through cover crops plowed under. The 

 sodded trees have always responded to applications of Xitrate of 

 Soda. 



Mr. Allis. Have you any figures showing the increased income 

 from that orchard after it got on its feet from cultivation? 



Mr. Hedrick. I have the figures that were published in our 

 bulletin. For every Sioo we have taken from the sod plot, we have 

 taken S150 from the tilled plot. I think I may say that during the 

 time this experiment has been running in western Xew York there 

 has been a tremendous increase in number of tilled orchards. There 

 are, of course, a good many neglected orchards now in sod, but more 

 and more the growers of this fruit, as with other fruits, are coming 

 to till their trees as they till their corn or any other crop. I believe 

 that ]\Ir. Allis will agree with me that tillage is almost the invariable 

 rule in western Xew York. 



C. J. Tyson. I think that this sul^ject was suggested here for 

 the reason that we are not by any means of one mind on the ques- 

 tion of sod and tillage, and simpl}' for the sake of bringing out the 

 other side, I would like to ask your opinion of this proposition : 

 \\'hether the expenditure of the dift"erence in the cost of handling 

 the sod and the tillage in manure, mulch, fertilizer or sod, might not 

 bring as good results as the tilled method ^ 



Prof. Hedrick. It won't bring it in X'ew York. have 

 tried that ^•ery thing. AA'e have used Xitrate of Soda in excess and 

 yet we can't bring the trees up any way near the capacity of those 

 that are tilled. I have seen the two methods carried on so long, 

 both in eastern and western X'ew York, and have worked so much 

 with these kinds of tillage with trees, that it seems to me almost cer- 

 tain that where tillage can be given it is the better of the two 

 methods. 



Member. Do oats and barley supply nitrogen? 



Prof. Hedrick. Oats and barley do not supply X^itrogen. 



R. M. Eldon. If land is moderately steep or rolling, how 

 would you alternate tilling it and leaving it in sod? 



Prof Hedrick. That can be done well, especially if you use 

 clover as sod. Bluegrass would not do so well, but to alternate 

 clover with tillage is a very good plan on land that is too steep to 

 till every year. The addition of organic matter in the shape of 

 straw or hay is absolutely impossible in X^ew York. You must grow 



