82 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



later in appearing than it is on the Baldwin, and the delay 

 caused by the nitrates is a little too much for the color to appear 

 on those later coloring varieties, such as the York Imperial. 

 But the same general principle applies to them as to the other; 

 that is, it is simply a matter of maturity and sunlight to get the 

 maximum amount of color on your fruit. 



Ques. How many pounds of fertilizer will be required by a 

 good large tree, with a heavy crop? 



Ans. You can figure that in this way. About 500 pounds 

 per acre of a 6-10-5 fertilizer will give you the plant food called 

 for in our general recommendation. The balance depends on 

 how many trees you have to the acre. If you have 40 trees 

 per acre, it will mean I2| pounds per tree. 



Ques. That will be the limit ? 



Ans. Well, I have put on 50 per cent more plant food than 

 that right along without any undesirable results. But I am 

 not recommending any more than the present amounts because 

 this is a good, rich fertilizer compared with the average. And 

 it is the kind of fertilizer that brings returns, and it is returns 

 that we are after, — net returns. I do not care to put on a fer- 

 tilizer that costs me comparatively little, if I do not get anything 

 back. You see I have been putting on lime there. It does not 

 cost much, but it does not return anything at all and I was out 

 my labor. The only kind of fertilizer I would care to put into 

 an orchard is one that would show a margin of profit. 



Ques. Do you ever use commercially mixed fertilizer for an 

 orchard ? 



Ans. No. Our fertilizers are mixed at the factory, but they 

 are all mixed under my personal supervision and I see what 

 goes into every batch. Hence my fertilizers are essentially 

 home mixed, but I use the factory machinery to do it. 



Ques. I notice you say the difference in results between the 

 fertilizer plowed in and that left on top was \ery slight. I 

 would like to inquire if those plots were cultivated at any time 

 of the year? 



Ans. One of these experiments is cultivated every year in 

 the typical orchard tillage system. That is in the Tyson or- 

 chard, a comparatively young orchard. The other two have not 

 received any tillage at all since the experiment started, and yet 

 you will notice what high yields we have obtained in them, with 



