New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPDRIMENT STATION. 465 
trees 2 to 25 inclusive, rows 7 and 9. For measurements, 
branches covering five years’ growth were cut on five sides of 
each tree, 240 branches for each plat. The comparisons be- 
tweea branches and twigs from the tilled and sodded trees are 
shown in Plate XXVIII. 
The averages in Table VI show, as in all other criteria so 
far examined, a great loss of vigor on the part of the sod- 
mulched trees. The growth for five years on the tilled land 
lacks but a trifle of being twice that on the sodded land. The 
growth is less from year to year on both plats, with the in- 
creasing age of the trees, but the yearly decrease is much 
greater on the sodded than on the tilled trees; the falling away 
being from 5.8 inches in 1904 on the sod to. 1.9 inches in 1908; 
while in the tilled plat it was 7.9 inches in 1904 and 5 inches 
in 1908. 
TABLE VI.—AVERAGE LENGTH OF ANNUAL GROWTH AND AVERAGF NUMBER 
OF LATERALS ON SODDED AND TILLED APPLE TREES. 



Year Sod Tillage 
In. In. 
RN ma ie ea che oly np ads She suse en et te Seal es 0.8 7.9 
See aE OMe What rg 0 te APs. Pl. dds A. SSL. 4.2 7.2 
CO gs EE eS Sn De gr eee ea eee PAY 6.5 
RUNNIN MT Men He Whole treet iy) se aiisty i sere e384 sf Gs nei ene 2.5 6.9 
lien MR RMELNOE ate MN Cote iS hi/s it riots (I wale EN e a! 1.9 5.0. 
Thc a a pemiadog 17.1 33.5 
erage SNUUG! TOWEL. 6a. e ria. ss sds ys we 3.4 6.7 
Average number laterals per year.............. 1.9 4.4 




As the measurements of length were taken the numbers of 
laterals made each year were counted. These are per year 
for the sod trees 1.9; for the tilled trees, 4.4. The number of 
side shoots on each year’s growth shows that in neither case 
was the new wood soft and sucker-like. They show, too, that 
there was a possibility for many more fruit-spurs on the new 
growths of the tilled trees than on those of the sod trees. 
