Care of Fruit Trees. G25 



No attempt has been made to estimate the amount or value of the 

 leaves which are blown into the fence corners or onto adjoining 

 fields, nor those which remain on the land. The good judgment of 

 the orchardist can make these estimates according to exposure and 

 local conditions with a good degree of accuracy. In the investiga- 

 tion of soil exhaustion by nursery stock, which follows, no account 

 has been taken of the leaves, as the wind has but little effect where 

 the trees are so low-headed, and so numerous as they are in the 

 nursery row. 



As a clearer comprehension is had by comparing unfamiliar things 

 ^th familiar things, a table follows which gives in brief the soil 

 exhaustion which is likely to occur from a continuous twenty -year 

 wheat production. Here, again, an average yield has been assumed 

 which, while approximately correct for New York, may be wide of 

 the mark in some States where the average yield of wheat falls to 8 

 or 10 bushels per acre. 



The following tables show the amounts and value of the fertiliz- 

 ing ingredients removed by wheat (grain and straw) in twenty years 

 ■continuous cropping, assuming an average yield of 15 bushels per 

 acre and 7 pounds of straw to 3 bushels of grain : 



Table IX. 

 Composition of Wheat and Straw. 



Water. Nitrogen. Phosphoric acid. Potash. 



•Grain 14-75% 2.36% .89% .61% 



Straw 12.56 .559 .12 .51 



Table X. 



Amounts and value of plant food removed in one year and in 



twenty years. 



Nitrogen. Phosphoric acid. Potash. Total 



lbs. lbs lbs. value. 



Orain, 1 year 21.24 8.01 5.49 $3 99 



Grain, 20 years 424.80 160.20 109.80 79 86 



Straw, 1 year 11.74 2.52 10.71 2 42 



Straw, 20 years 234.78 50.40 214.20 48 37 



Total value in wheat, grain and straw for 20 years $128 23 



Total value in apple, fruit and leaves for 20 years 207 45 



The above table shows that the orchard requires, if fruitful, plant 

 food equal in value to $87 more than the wheat. No one would 



40 



