red skin would make the the trees. There are two objections to this, how¬ 
ever. One is the danger of fire, which is the greatest 
- objection that can be urged against the mulch sys¬ 
tem. Another is the danger from mice, which will 
in Sod Orchards nest under the thick mulch and often work on the 
he best time of year to cut tree> even when there is |jlont >' of other food ' 0m ' 
pr the at title trees, an rl whvV best results have been obtained by digging around 
the base of tlie tree with a grub lioe or spade, leav¬ 
ing a clear space of about IS in. out from the trunk. 
Then cut the grass and let it lie evenly all over the 
orchard. As stated, there is no definite time for 
doing this. We must watch the soil and be guided 
by the amount of moisture it contains. 
Our experience shows that the cow pea does not 
require lime under ordinary conditions. In fact, 
we have obtained a better growth without lime. In 
case inoculation is used, some lime would evidently 
be needed in order to obtain best results, for the 
bacteria will not do tlieir best in an acid soil. Un- 
rass several times rather than let der ordinary conditions we should seed cow peas 
without the lime, for in the ordinary 
apple orchard we have not found lime 
. a necessity, except when needed to in- 
•. - 4 crease the growth of the cover crop. 
I NOTH With a feeling of regret that in your 
editorial on page 700 you mention the Greening 
apple as .I passing variety. If it he true, then, those Cutting Grass in Sod Orchards 
who have spent years with it. and have learned to 
love it for its good qualities (and it has many, some What d>> you consider the best lime of year to cu 
„ , • . , ,,, . ....._ .._ ,1 „ . „ grass for mulch to lie under the apple trees, and why 
of which I will euumciatc ) ha\e pas. ul on al. o. Am I correct in understanding in your opinion cov 
Tit mv estimation, no more worthy apple as a inert- peas, if inoculated, are not especially partial to lime a; 
Eft go-lifter was over sot oat on any fan., where if 2VU8 
finds its surroundings congenial, than the good old and apple orchard V n. s. t\ 
Rhode Island Greening. Some of the redeeming Pennsylvania. 
qualities which I have found in the Greening are TVTO definite time can be given for cutting the 
taken from 12 years of close contact with an orchard IN grass. It depends almost entirely upon tin 
about 40 years of age. Others I noted in young trees condition of the trees and the season. In a very wet 
wliiph I pass almost daily. season, where there is an abundance of water, wc 
It is a tree that, with reasonable care, will come should let the grass grow the full si/.e and ripen 
into hearing from eight to 10 years of age. Any Then cut it and let it remain on the ground. In a 
variety propagated today may well envy the synt- drier season it will he evident that the grass is rob- 
metrical manner in which its limbs grow, and if bing the trees of moisture, and in that event we 
given room (40 to 50 ft. apart) will permit one- should cut the 
third of its fruit to he gathered from 
the ground by a man of average height 
until the tree is well advanced in life. 
say 30 or 35 years. If this tree is kept mtf|^ 
in balance as to plant food it need 
have very little fear of any Winters in 
New York State. It is not a tree that 
will have all 3-in. apples during its 
youth, then serve you with the 2-in. 
sort when it reaches 40 years of age. 
as they hold their size well through t v r tilhr 
life - 
I>id you ever visit a heavily fruited jR) 
Greening tree on a fine Sunday after- ANt 
noon in late September, then the fol- ”, 
lowing Sunday find it had shed most fgg: 
of its beautiful crop? No, never, un- '•'» 
less high winds have prevailed. Can 
the fine McIntosh claim as much? 
The Greening waits the will of the t 
picker; the McIntosh waits for no man. 
Out of 50 varieties we have very few 
that can be picked and packed with 
less apparent injury than the Green¬ 
ing. Can the McIntosh be picked by 
the bushel in a bag from a 25-ft. tree, 
dumped in crates, hauled to the pack¬ 
ing shed, and stand up with the noble 
Greening? Wc have never found it so. 
You say the method is wrong—one 
ought to wear gloves and pick in a 
basket. In some localities that might 
prove advantageous, but not under the 
ordinary conditions of a fruit harvest 
when one seeks help. 
IIow about color? Have they got to 
have it? No! The greener the better. 
As to trimming, they are a peer to 
many varieties now grown commer¬ 
cially. They grow just as well in sod 
as under cultivation, under proper con¬ 
ditions. Those conditions are that the 
sod be well maintained, and both tree 
and grass liberally fed. 
Someone will say, “Oh, they don’t 
sell well any more." I ask them to 
watch the quotations from year to 
year, and I think they will find the 
Greening among the elect. I could 
mention other desirable qualities, and it may have 
others which I have omitted, but I feel I know them 
so well that if I were setting out an orchard this 
Spring of 1.000 trees 900 of them would be Greenings. 
I can say nothing in defense of the Baldwin or 
Russet. We have but a few trees of Baldwins and. 
while they ought to be at work this year, they are 
not. niitl since the Winter of 1917-18 they have acted 
as if they wished they might occupy the fireplace, 
and no doubt their wish will be fulfilled in time. 
T1 has not been my desire in any way to belittle the 
excellent qualities of the McTntosh. its limb system 
is desirable and its fruit renowned. However, I 
trust that we may never see the passing of the Rhode 
Island Greening, for no variety will ever fill its 
place. E. B. WILSON. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. 
It. N.-Y.—What Mr. Wilson says about R. I. 
Greenings is all true. He might well say more. We 
think this variety will remain as a cooking apple—• 
it has no superior for pies or sauce. There can be 
no question, however, that most consumers demand 
a red or a bright yellow apple. Most nurserymen 
will agree that sales of Greening trees are not as 
heavy as in former years The truth seems to be 
that while Greening is one of the most useful apples 
that ever grew on a tree, it carries the wrong color 
to suit the popular market. The tlesh of Greening 
This shows a field of Japanese millet as harvested in Western New York. This 
millet was cut with a binder and shocked like small grain. It gave a heavy yield. 
In some eases green millet is handled in this way, and cut into the silo like green 
Corn. It makes good silage—giving a crop with less labor than corn requires. 
You may c*nll this "cantaloupe time in Jersey.” This was in the old day 
Colorado, Arizona, Venezuela and all between sent carloads of melons in¬ 
continent to feed the Atlantic coast dwellers. New Jersey is coming ba 
melon State. And the home market is best. 
it make full growth. After some years of study and Whether this low and inferior yield of the second 
observation the grower will come to know by the crop will continue remains to be seen, 
appearance of the trees when they are likely to We note that the cost of cleaning up for the second 
suffer from moisture, and he will arrange his opera- crop is very much less when the mulch is burned off 
tions accordingly. This year, in our own orchards, than when it is raked up and hauled off. In 1919 
we have had an abundance of moisture, and wc shall cleaning up the old bed took 108 man hours and 33 
let the grass and clover stand until it is fully ripe, horse hours, but in 1920 the old bed was mown and 
then cutting it for a mulch. Two years ago we had burnt off, which took 2.5 man hours and two horse 
a dry May. and it became evident in the latter part hours. In burning care must be taken that the fire 
of the month that there would not be moisture runs through rapidly, or the berry plants will be 
enough in the soil k to mature the grass and still pro- injured. 
vide enough for the trees. So we cut the grass be- The land oa which the strawberry test is made is 
fore it came in bloom, and cut it again later on. not uniform, and the results of different applications 
The object of the mulch system is twofold. We of fertilizers have been variable from year to year, 
avoid extra labor in plowing and cultivating by let- However, it would seetu that 2tX> lbs. of acid phos- 
ting the grass grow, and we hold moisture in the phate on each crop has increased the yield. The 
soil by cutting the grass and leaving it on the sur- varieties used in the foregoing test are Sample and 
face. To let the grass grow too long would do more Parson’s Beauty. cary w. Montgomery. 
harm than good, as (be trees would be robbed of the Ohio Experiment Station. 
moisture, and we have found that unless they can _ 
be well supplied during May and June we cannot 
expect to obtain a full crop from them. Another Strange as it may seem, we have a dozen letters 
trouble with the mulch system is the fact that un- asking if the wire screens and doors fitting a house 
less we are careful some of the trees are likely to are part of the real estate. When the house is sold, 
become sod-bound. The grass grows up close around must these screens be delivered to the buyer? 
the trunk, and the tree cannot do its best under such While often regarded as personal property, we 
conditions. This is overcome to some extent by always feel that such screens belong to the house, 
raking up a part of the mulch and piling it. under and we deliver them with the real estate. 
