THE FIGURES FROM A MULCHED ORCHARD. 
Experience From New York. 
As I have 20 acres of young orchard I have been 
very much interested in the discussion in The R. 
N.-Y. regarding various methods of orchard treatment 
and particularly the articles relating to sod mulch and 
tillage. This is certainly a broad question, and I am 
convinced that should further experiments and prac¬ 
tice prove conclusively one system is better in any 
locality or under certain conditions, the other method 
may be equally suc¬ 
cessful under other 
conditions. I sincerely 
hope that no one will 
be so positive that his 
way is the only way, 
that he will be unwill¬ 
ing to believe others 
have succeeded by an¬ 
other method. I am 
t tying to determine 
from my own experi¬ 
ments and the experi¬ 
ments of others, which 
is the better method 
for my adoption, and 
why. 
I was in W. T. 
Mann’s orchard five 
years ago, and since 
then have noted its 
growth and appearance 
when riding past it 
from time to time, and 
am not surprised at 
his report of its pro¬ 
ductiveness given on 
page 58. A short time 
ago I was at Mr. 
Hitchings’ place, and 
having read the con- 
t i n u c d reports in 
The R. N.-Y. from 
the Auchtcr * orchard 
experiment, and not 
having seen the Hitch¬ 
ings orchard before in 
two years, I was espec¬ 
ially interested in 
noting the conditions 
there, and give report 
below of same just as 
I found them. 
Mr. Hitchings has 
110 acres of apple 
orchard of his own, 
besides having the en¬ 
tire care of 40 acres 
adjoining for another 
owner. His two elder 
boys, not yet quite 16 
and 14 years of age, 
are proving very sub¬ 
stantial help in the orchard work, and during the 
past year have practically taken the places of two 
men. Two younger lads, nine and six, and a daugh¬ 
ter 11, arc rapidly acquiring the “helpful habit,” and 
all are interested in the orchard work to an astonish¬ 
ing degree. A two-year-old daughter completes the 
list of little people, and the present indications are 
that in a very few years Mr. and Mrs. Hitchings will 
have a strong force of “home talent” hard to beat, 
that will be of great value and comfort to them in 
coping with the work which is rapidly increasing 
with the growing orchards. I was pleased to learn 
of the names the boys have given to the different 
orchards and sections, each name being particularly 
appropriate by reason of some natural condition or 
event associated with the location, and those who 
have visited the place will readily understand how 
apt some of them are. The names follow: Mt. 
Ararat, Plains of Abraham, Fairview, Woodchuck 
Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Addertongue. Clearing, Thanks¬ 
giving Orchard, Newmanside and the Commercial 
Orchard. I lie peach orchard was named Alpha and 
Omega, and its record has proven that the beginning 
and the end were not far apart, as the orchard was 
practically destroyed by the severe Winter of four 
years ago. 
I will first mention Addertongue Clearing, which 
consists of 142 trees of Wealthy, Twenty Ounce, 
Astrachan, McIntosh, Boiken, Spitzenburg and Bis¬ 
marck, which were set in April, 1903, among the 
stumps, the timber, which consisted of maple, beech 
and basswood, having been cleared off during the 
previous Winter. At least 25 per cent of the trees in 
this block are three inches in diameter, and from 
eight to 13 feet high. The Spitzenburg and McIntosh 
have made a better growth than the other varieties. 
Several trees of Boiken and Wealthy bore a few speci¬ 
mens of fruit this last season. The brush and weeds 
have been cut with scythe each year, and Timothy 
seed sown, so that quite a good sod has formed. The 
ground has had no harrowing. As soon as the stumps 
can be easily removed the ground will be worked 
down and seeded, after which the mowing machine 
will be used. The “Thanksgiving Orchard” was set in 
November, 1902, as a variety test, and consists of one 
row each of the following 11 varieties, each row con¬ 
taining 20 trees: Bald¬ 
win, Grimes Golden, 
J o n a t h a n, C o x’s > 
Orange Pippin, Spitz-' 
enburg, Hendrick 
Sweet, Fameuse, Ram- 
bo, Seek - no - further, 
and two rows -each of 
McIntosh and’ Twenty 
Ounce. This orchard 
has been in sod since 
planted. During the 
hard Winter of 1903-4 
many of them were 
severely Injured, the 
result on the different 
varieties being shown 
in the following list: 
Cox’s Orange, 80 per 
cent destroyed (only 
two trees being saved) ; 
Baldwin, 75 per cent 
destroyed ; S p i t z e n- 
burg, 60 per cent de¬ 
stroyed; Grimes 
Golden, 40 per cent de¬ 
stroyed; Jonathan, 10 
per cent destroyed; 
Twenty Ounce, 5 per 
cent destroyed; Hend¬ 
rick Sweet, 5 per cent 
destroyed; Fameuse 
a n d R a m b o, b u t 
slightly injured; Seek- 
no-further and Mc¬ 
Intosh, practically un¬ 
injured. This plot is 
on flat land where the 
test was most severe. 
Across the highway, 
adjoining one of the 
test plots, is another 
block in sod, consist¬ 
ing of Spy, R. I. 
Greening, Sutton and 
Wagoner. The Spys 
were uninjured while 
Greening and Sutton 
show considerable in¬ 
jury, and Wagoner 
about the same as 
Spitzenburg noted 
above. 
The “Commercial Orchard” is one of the test 
orchards, one-half of which is under cultivation as 
directed by Prof. I ledrick, and is located on fiat land 
in a very heavy soil. The land had been cropped for 
many years previous to the planting of the orchard. 
At the time of my visit there was a light covering of 
snow, and the ground on the cultivated plot was 
frozen too hard to be easily broken up with the heel. 
The soil under the frozen crust was very compact. 
On the mulched plot the ground was not frozen at 
all, and was very mellow to a depth of several inches, 
■ being easily loosened up with the fingers. This 
