STATE POMOLOGICAIv SOCIETY. 145 



PRACTICAL FRUIT GROWING. 



By W. H. CoNANT. 



It s a well known fact that a large per cent of the fruiit pro- 

 duced in Maine is grown by farmers who carry on a system of 

 diversified farming, and, in many cases, the orchard is a second 

 or third consideration. 



But I am glad to say a great many are waking up to the pos- 

 sibilities in orcharding, and today fruit growing is a live ques- 

 tion in many Maine counties. Yet there is a lack of system in 

 orchard management, and tlie question is often asked, "What 

 shall I do for my orchard?" and so I wish to speak just a few 

 moments on the management of bearing orchards from the 

 standpoint of a grower. There are various systems of orchard 

 culture, all of which are good under favorable conditions, but 

 I believe that tillage with cover crops is best adapted to our 

 conditions and our short seasons in Maine. 



There is a balance between fruit and wood growth and this 

 can be maintained much easier under the tillage system. The 

 question is asked, "How and what shall I feed my orchard?" 

 In the first place we should realize that tillage in a measure is 

 fertilization, that working the soil liberates plant food that 

 otherwise woudd not become available. 



There are three principal elements of plant food with which 

 we must supply our trees if we wish to derive best results. 

 They are nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. 



On account of varying soil conditions there can be no set 

 fonnula for feeding the orchard, yet many Maine orchardists 

 have used the following formula with excellent results ; three 

 to four per cent nitrogen, seven to eight phosphoric acid, and 

 ten per cent potash, used at the rate of five hundred pounds 

 per acre. 



Tree feeding should be done as early in the spring as the 

 conditions of the soil will permit, whether farm dressing is used 

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