470 Report OF THE HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
XNXXI), while the four inner rows made an average gain of but 
97 inch. It is true that the outside row in the tilled plat also 
made a greater gain than the inner rows but not nearly so 
great—being 2.3 inches for the outside row and 2.1 inches 
for the inner rows. 
_ Surface wash.—The land in the Auchter orchard is rolling, 
though nowhere are the slopes steep. In this respect it is a 
fair average of the apple orchards of western New York. At 
‘no time has there been any harmful surface wash in either of 
the two plats and we have not, therefore, had an opportunity 
to observe in this orchard the influence of cultivation on sur- 
face wash. Since tillage is objected to on hilly ground because 
it is supposed to favor surface wash, it may not be out of place 
to give observations from elsewhere in this regard. 
In all but the steepest locations in the climate and on the 
soils of New York, embracing practically all sites upon which 
trees can be sprayed, harvested and pruned with sufficient easi- 
ness to make fruit-growing profitable, proper cultivation may be 
made an efficient means of lessening the washing of land. 
Whatever contributes to the porosity of the soil prevents wash- 
ing. It is obvious that cultivation makes a soil granular and 
porous. Plowing and tillage to clieck surface wash on steep 
Slopes should be as deep as possible; furrows should run at 
right angles to the slope to impede the fall of the water; in 
some cases open furrows and ditches having a very gentle fall 
can well be maintained. If the above means of stopping sur- 
face wash be supplemented by cover-crops, which check the 
wash at the season when the rainfall is heaviest, it can be said 
that almost any land upon which it is practicable to grow fruit 
can be cultivated. Such deep-rooting cover crops as the 
clovers and cow-horn turnips are of great value on land that 
washes because they form root tubes which help to take care of 
the water. Artificial drainage is sometimes necessary on hill 
sides to prevent land from becoming water-logged, which of 
course would favor washing. There need be little solicitude 
about surface wash on most of the fruit lands of New York 
if proper precautions are observed where it is menacing. 
