ah Director’s REPORT OF THE 
ence of $38.91 in favor of tillage, an increase of 54 per ct. for 
tillage over the sod-mulch method of management. 
Tillage seems to be better than sod for the apple for the follow- 
ing reasons: The results of 120 moisture ‘determinations in the 
Auchter orchard show that the differences in tree growth and 
crop in the two plats of this experiment are mainly due to differ- 
ences in moisture, the tilled plat having most moisture. As a 
consequence of the reduced water supply in the sod plat, there is 
a reduced food supply; for it is only through the medium of free 
water that plants can take in food. Analyses show that the differ- 
ences between the actual amounts of plant food in the tiwo plats 
are very small. Analyses show that there is more humus in the 
tilled plat than in the sod plat, contradicting the oft-made asser- 
tion that the tillage method of managing an orchard “ burns out 
the humus.” At a depth of six inches, the tilled soil is 1.1 
degrees warmer in the morning and 1.7 degrees at night, than the 
sod land; at twelve inches the tilled soil is 2.3 degrees warmer in 
the morning and 1.8 degrees in the evening. We are justified, 
without the presentation of specific data, in saying that a tilled 
soil is better aérated than sodded land. Soil investigators are well 
agreed that beneficial micro-organisms are found in greater num- 
bers in a cultivated soil than in other soils. 
The following application of the results of this experiment may 
be made: Nearly all the plants which minister to the needs of 
men are improved by tillage; the apple does not seem to be an 
exception. Results as positive as in this experiment can be made 
very comprehensive; they should apply to all varieties of apples 
and to nearly all soils and locations. The experiment does not 
show that apples cannot be grown in sod; it suggests, however, 
that apples thrive in sod, not because of the sod but in spite of it. 
While moisture is by no means the only factor to be considered 
in the controversy over the sod and tillage methods of manage- 
ments, it appears to be the chief one. There is nothing in this 
experiment to indicate that trees will become adapted to grass. 
