ber of western New York orchards showing the results of
cultivation and other methods of soil management. These data are
overwhelmingly in the favor of cultivation. In Wayne County the
average yield of orchards tilled for five years or more was 271
bushels per acre, as compared with 200 bushels per acre for those in
sod five years or more but otherwise well cared for,--an increase of
thirty-five per cent. in favor of good tillage. In Orleans County,
under the same conditions, the increase in yield due to cultivation
was forty-five per cent. and in Niagara County it was twenty-two per
cent. Records were made on hundreds of orchards and the results should
be given great weight in determining the system to be practiced, as
intelligent consideration of trustworthy records is to be encouraged.

These results were obtained in one region under its conditions and it
is quite possible, although not probable, that other conditions might
give different results. There are, however, special conditions as will
be pointed out later, under which the sod mulch method might be more
advisable than tillage. It is cheaper, makes a cleaner cover for the
drop fruit, avoids the damage from tillage implements to which tilled
trees are liable, and can be practiced on lands too steep to till. It
often happens, too, that it fits into the scheme of management on a
general farm better than the more intensive and specialized system of
cultivation. And it must be remembered that we are dealing with this
question from the point of view of the home farm rather than of the
commercial orchardist. So that where the sod mulch gives equally good
results it would be preferred under these conditions.

LATE FALL AND EARLY SPRING PLOWING.--The common tillage practice in
the sections where it is most followed is to plow either in late fall
or as early as possible in the spring. Whether fall or spring plowing
is best depends on two things: the character of the soil and
convenience. On heavy clay soils where drainage is poor it is not
advisable to plow in the fall as the soil is apt to puddle and then to
bake when it dries, making it hard to handle. On gravel loams, medium
loams, and all well drained soils which are fairly open in texture
either fall or spring plowing is practiced depending on which period
affords the most time.

On the general farm where there are several crops for which the land
must be prepared in spring, it would seem best to get as much of t