214 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



field mice and other rodents and thus die from starvation. This loss 

 can be prevented in two ways. First, by protecting the trees from 

 attacks of these rodents, by use of shields or by covering tlie trunk 

 pnd lower limbs of the tree with some sort of heavy paint. (Asphal- 

 tum has proven very satisfactory for this purpose.) Second, by 

 overcoming the effects of girdling. In case the strip of bark which 

 has been removed is very narrow, (not more than three or four inches 

 wide), the tree may be saved by bridging or 'bark grafting. If the 

 wound is larger than this, it is doubtful if the tree will survive even 

 if a good job of grafting is done. In any case, unless the tree is 

 young or of some rare and valuable variety, it would be better to 

 plant new trees and protect them as mentioned above. However, in 

 case of young and valuable trees, which one is desirous of saving, 

 bark grafting may be employed. The bark is trimmed back at the 

 edges to sound growth, and scions of the current year's growth are 

 cut a couple of inches longer than the girdle is wide and shaped to 

 thin wedges at both ends. One end is inserted under the bark below 

 the girdle and the other above it. The whole, consisting of wound 

 and scions, should be covered by grafting wax in order to keep out 

 water and to keep the part moist and in a growing condition. 



If the wound is very narrow, strips of bark may be used instead 

 of scions and may be cut to fit, edge to edge, with the bark of the 

 tree and not forced between the bark and the wood. In this case, as 

 if with scions, however, the whole should be covered with grafting 

 wax, but care should be taken to keep the wax from between the 

 edges of the bark and the tree and the grafted bark.' — February 

 'Horticulture." 



FERTILITY IN ORCHARDS. 



(From N. AV. Horticulturist.) 



The experiment station at the State College, Pennsylvania, through 

 the work of Dr. J. B. Stewart, pomologist, has demonstrated that 

 fertility is very essential to secure crops up to standards. With the 

 soil sufficiently well supplied with potash the next most important 

 elements to supply are first nitrogen and second phosphates. These, 

 however are dependent on moisture conditions of the soil. The net 

 profits from a proper fertilization including the control of moisture have 

 run as high as seventeen times the amounts of fruits produced on the 

 adjacent checks for untreated plots. 



"Under the absence of nitrogen, as a rule, applications of phos- 

 phates and potash have not been profitable. On some soils, and in the 

 presence of sufficient nitrogen, however, moderate amounts of these 

 minerals are often profitable. Neither has had any material influence on 

 color. On size, the influence of potash has been favorable. 



"Nitrogen has had greater influence in increasing yield than any 

 other element. It also materially decreased color. This is due pri- 

 marily to delay in maturity, and may be overcome by later picking. 

 The delay on it in one locality in 1911 was three weeks. 



