74 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



about the middle of this period should do very well, though 

 some of our most striking results have come from applications 

 made as late as the 8th of July. 



With the peach in Missouri, Dr. Whitten reports that the 

 time of application is very important and that large increases 

 in yield have been obtained from moderate quantities of ni- 

 trate of soda alone, when "applied at the right time."* This 

 is considered to be "after the main length-growth has taken 

 place in the early summer." Such applications kept the trees 

 from going into the rest period too early, and maintained a. 

 green and healthy condition throughout late summer and 

 autumn without renewing the growth in twig length. It may 

 also be noted that in the English work, at the Wobum Experi- 

 mental Fruit Farm, July applications proved beneficial, while 

 those made in February were of no avail. 



An incidental advantage of the delayed applications appears 

 in the fact that it gives an opportunity to vary the rate some- 

 what in accord with the size of the crop set on the trees. 

 When the crop is light, much smaller applications are required, 

 because of the natural tendency of the trees to develop a 

 sufficient number of fruit buds in the off season. In the 

 full years, on the other hand, the applications should be 

 rather liberal, in order to prevent the total absence of a crop 

 the following year and in the long run to steady the yields. 

 Proper utilization of such a plan as this should save much in 

 a series of years, and also enable one to secure the maximum 

 return for the fertilization applied. 



In the case of the mineral ingredients, with their lower solu- 

 bility and slower action, the time of application is less impor- 

 tant. Some careful observers in commercial work regularly 

 apply their phosphates and potash in the fall, on their peach 

 orchards, and believe that this gives best results. Thus far, 

 however, we have felt that the time of application for the 

 minerals is of relatively little importance, since they are rather 

 quickly fixed in the soil, in any case, and they do not leach 

 readily. We therefore apply them along with the nitrogen at 

 the time considered best for it. Manure also can be applied 

 at almost any time, excepting possibly late summer or fair, 

 without danger of loss or of ill efifects. 



* See Proceedings of the Society for Horticultural Science 191 1 p. 37. 



