436 Report or trHoe HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
The average yield on the sod plat for the five years was 72.9 
barrels per acre; for the tilled plat, 109.2 barrels; difference 
in favor of tilled plat, 36.3 barrels. | 
Estimates made at blooming and fruiting time showed a far 
greater number of fruits on the tilled trees. Actual count showed 
434 apples per barrel on thesod land weighing 5.01 ounces each and 
309 apples per barrel on the tilled plat weighing 7.04 ounces each. 
The fruit from the sod-mulch plat is much more highly colored 
than that from the tilled plat. 
The fruit on the sod-mulch plat matures from one to three 
weeks earlier than that on the tilled plat. 
In common storage, fruit from the tilled plat keeps four weeks 
longer than that from the sod plat. In cold storage, the keeping 
quality of the two fruits is the same. 
The tilled fruit is decidedly better in quality, being crisper, 
more juicy and of better flavor. 
The advantage of tillage over the sod-mulch in the matter of 
uniformity of trees and crops is marked. The trees in sod showed 
abnormalities in foliage, branches, roots and particularly in fruit- 
bearing and in fruit characters. 
The average gain in diameter of trunk for the trees in sod 
for the five years was 1.1 inches; for the trees under tillage 2.1 
inches; gain in favor of tillage, 1 inch. 
The dark, rich green color of the foliage of the tilled trees 
indicated that the tilled trees were in the best of health. On the 
other hand the yellow color of the leaves of the sod trees told 
at once that something was amiss. , 
It needed only a glance in the orchard to see that the leaves 
of the tilled trees were much larger and much more numerous 
and that therefore the total leaf area was much greater. 
Leaves from sodded trees and the same number (2,400) from 
tilled trees were weighed and gave 8.7 grams as the average 
weight per leaf for the sodded trees and 11.5 grams for the 
tilled trees. 
The leaves of the tilled trees came out three or four days 
earlier and remained on the trees a week or ten days later than 
on the sodded trees. 
