INDIANA IIORTICUI/rUEAL SOCIETY. 229 



healthy plant growth. We should have a proper mechanical condition of 

 soil, good drainage, and sufficient humus to make the soil loose and 

 friable. 



We will find that most of our fruit lands will be benefited by an appli- 

 cation of the three principal mineral elements in plant gi'owth, potash, 

 phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Stable manure, with the addition of un- 

 leached wood ashes, makes a good fruit fertilizer for clay lands. This 

 form of manure contains, readily available, all the necessary plant food, 

 besides a quantity of vegetable matter that tends to better the mechanical 

 condition by rendering the soil more porous. 



Stable manvires are open to two objections as a fruit fertilizer, first, 

 the composition or strength is an unknown quantity, and we can not tell 

 just how much of each of the important elements we are applying. The 

 second objection is that stable manures usually contain too great a per 

 cent, of nitrogen, and if applied heavily stimulate too rank a growth of 

 plant at the expense of the fruit; and in the case of trees and shrubs, 

 induce a late, sappy wood growth that is liable to damage from severe 

 winters. 



Probably the most economic and satisfactory fruit fertilizer is com- 

 mercial potash and phosphoric acid and nitrogen, the latter when practi- 

 cable through clover or leguminous plants. If the soil contains the proper 

 proportions of plant food, the plants and trees will not only make a 

 thrifty, vigorous growth, but the fruit will be more abundant, larger, 

 firmer, more highly colored, and better in quality. 



Chemical analysis shows that trees and fruits, especially the latter, 

 vary in their composition; for instance, apples and peaches contain two 

 and one-half times more potash than pears. This suggests that, in apply- 

 ing fertilizers, we should be governed somewhat by the proportion each 

 class of fruits use. 



One hundred bushels of apples analyze about 1 pound of phosphoric 

 acid, 10 pounds of potash, 7 pounds of nitrogen. One hundred bushels of 

 pears, ly^ pounds phosphoric acid, 4 pounds potash, 5 pounds nitrogen. 

 One hundred bushels of peaches, 2% pounds phosphoric acid, 13 pounds of 

 potash, G pounds of nitrogen. 



Probably for apples we should use of nitrogen 4 per cent., potash 6 

 per cent., phosphoric acid 2 per cent. For pears, nitrogen 4 per cent., 

 potash 2 per cent, phosphoric acid 4 per cent. For peaches, nitrogen 4 

 per cent., potash 5 per cent., phosphoric acid 4 per cent. 



For small fruits, generally speaking, the proportion for peaches is the 

 best suited. If stable manures are used, the ground should be thinly 

 covered early in the spring and worked into the soil. If commercial fer- 

 tilizers are used, they should be applied in early spring to the general sur- 

 face, at the rate of from 400 to GOO pounds to the acre annually. Annual 

 fertilization by some method is essential to the highest success in fruit 

 growing. 



