New York AcricutrurAL Experiment STATION. 449 
Pere ee NOVA DON GOP WORN-OUT 
Oba rin 5.” 
Us Peal EDRICK, 
I. CAUSES OF WEARING OUT. 
Old age.— Old age with orchard fruit is a relative term. In 
general, longevity depends upon the fruit, the variety and the 
environment. The profitable bearing age of the several fruits is 
longest in the apple followed in order by the pear, cherry, plum 
and lastly the peach. Some verieties live longer than others. 
Peaches live from fifteen to twenty years; plums, twenty to thirty ; 
cherries, thirty to forty; pears and apples fifty to eighty. Many 
orchards are too old to be worth renovation. 
Climate.— A deleterious change in climate is often assigned as 
a reason for the deterioration of orchards. Records show that 
climate in this region changes but little, though it does swing 
slightly from hot to cold and from wet to dry in cycles of a 
decade or less. Such changes do not greatly affect an apple or a 
pear generation but might shorten and reduce the value of a peach 
generation, The slight changes in climate do not greatly affect 
orchards. _ 
Insects and fungi.— Insects and fungi contribute much to the 
downfall of orchards. They are continually increasing in kinds 
and in individuals. The kinds increase by importation from foreign 
countries and because, as natural food is destroyed by the destruc- 
tion of wild vegetation, pests are driven to cultivated plants. The 
individuals of the innumerable kinds are increasing because orchard 
areas are becoming more closely united and so, as disease spreads 
faster in a city than in the country, pests multiply as their feeding 
grounds become more compact. 3 
Lack of care-—— Many orchards are worn out because they have 
been neglected. It is the exception to find an orchard that has 
*A reprint of Circular No. 6, new series. 
29 
4 a ' - “t : yet <2 6 
