dard varieties which have been
the source of much apple "sass," many an apple pie, and many a barrel
of cider-vinegar.

Not having been set for profit, these trees received little care.
Orchards were cropped in the regular rotation, or with hay, or
pastured. Farmers then knew little of modern methods of orchard
management. The orchard was regarded as an incumbrance to the land,
which had to be farmed to as good advantage as possible under the
circumstances, and if the apple trees by any chance yielded a crop,
the owner regarded himself as fortunate indeed.

But conditions have now changed. Both local and foreign markets have
been opened up and developed so that the demand for good fruit is
great. It will be some time before the thousands of acres of orchards
which have been and are being planted to meet this demand will be able
to do so in any adequate way. It has been shown in Chapter I how heavy
has been the falling off in the supply, even in the face of these
heavy plantings. Meanwhile we must turn to the old neglected farm
orchards for our supply of apples. Just at this particular time the
renovation of these old orchards offers a splendid opportunity to
increase the farm income.

The question is a live one on nearly every general farm in the East.
Will it pay to try to renovate my old apple trees? If so, what should
I do to make them profitable? What will it cost and what returns may
be expected? The latter question will be taken up in the following
chapter, but here we must try to indicate under what conditions it
may pay to renovate an old orchard, as well as those under which it
may not pay, and also how to go about the problem.

NECESSARY QUALITIES.--An apple orchard must have certain
qualifications in order to make it worth while to spend the time and
money necessary to accomplish the desired results. These we may take
up briefly under five heads: (1) varieties, (2) age, (3) number or
"stand" of trees, (4) vigor and health of the trees, and (5) soil,
site, and location. The discussion of these subjects in Chapters II
and III has equal application here, but we may perhaps point out their
specific application more definitely in the case of the old neglected
farm orchard.

(1) Varieties should be desirable sorts. If they are the best standard
market varieties, as is often the case, so much the better. Otherwise
little is gained by improving the tree and fruit. Poor or unknown
varieties have little or no ma