STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCII.TY. 7I 



and had a healthy, thrifty look; but I could not discover much 

 difference in the fruit as it was too early in the season for that, 

 and I went away about as skeptical as ever. I did not see them 

 again that season, but after he had gathered his fruit he brought 

 me some samples to look at, and I must say that I was completely 

 surprised. I had always known the farm, but there were never 

 such specimens raised there before, and I never saw their equal 

 anywhere. As I did not exactly fancy having my neighbor grow 

 larger and better fruit than I could, it induced me, the following 

 spring of 1902, to try the chemicals in a small way, and I pur- 

 chased 500 lbs. at a cost of about ten dollars, mixing them 

 according to the formula. 



Following is the fruit fertilizer formula : 



Nitrate of Soda, 350 lbs. 



Sulph. of Ammonia, 150 lbs. 



Sulph. of Potash, 230 lbs. 



Acid Phosphate, 220 lbs. 



Keiseret, 50 lbs. 



All to be thoroughly mixed and sown on the surface under the 

 tree, out a little further than the limbs extend, at the rate of ten 

 lbs. to a medium sized tree, from the first until the tenth of May, 

 or as soon as the blossom buds begin to open. 



I shoveled this mixture into a cart and drove through the 

 orchard and applied ten pounds to the tree, to about all the dif- 

 ferent kinds of fruit, selecting only those going to blossom, and 

 only one or two of a kind, to see what the effect would be in the 

 different sorts. But somehow or other I could not help feeling 

 that a fool and his money had soon parted, for I was loath to 

 believe that it would amount to anything to sow just ten pounds, 

 a little less than four quarts, on the grass ground that was seeded 

 down nine years ago, without its being hoed or raked in. One 

 could scarcely see it after it was applied. But the results were 

 marvelous. I do know and can prove that I got extra fruit 

 enough from two trees — a Mcintosh Red and a Fallawater — to 

 more than pay the whole expense of the chemicals. 



I was so well pleased with the results that I purchased two 

 tons the present year and applied in same manner, with the 

 exception that I made the application to lots of trees, that had no 

 blossoms and of course I received no benefit from those the 

 present season. But I wished to see what the effect would be 



