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 market value, except perhaps a very local one. If the trees are not too old and are fairly vigorous, poor varieties may sometimes be worked over by top grafting to better varieties. Characteristics which may make, a variety undesirable are: inferior quality; unattractiveness in color, shape, or size; lack of hardiness in the tree or keeping quality in the fruit; low yield; or being unknown in the market with its consequent small demand. Summer varieties are worth renovating only when they are in good demand in a nearby local market. (2) Vigor is more important than age in the tree, but is closely correlated with it. Ordinarily one should hesitate to try to renovate a tree more than forty or fifty years old, but this must always depend almost wholly on its condition and other characteristics. (3) In order to make a business of renovation and to do thorough work which means expense, there must be enough of the orchard to justify the expenditure of the time and money. This affects the results not only in expense, but in economy in management, equipment, and marketing. There should be at least an acre of say thirty trees, and better, more than that number to justify the expense of time and money necessary for renovation. One hundred trees would certainly justify it, other conditions being favorable. Then, too, the trees should be in such shape that they can be properly treated without too great trouble and expense, i.e., not too scattered or isolated or in the midst of regular fields better adapted for other crops.