558 



REPORT OP^ OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



cowhoni tmiiip.s wore .succcssfiill}' used as an orchard rover crop. As 

 a re.sult of e.xteiisivo oxporimonts at th(> Delaware Station with cover 

 crojxs. Professor Close" recoinineiids the followiiijjf ([uaiitities of seed 

 per acre: 



Rye 1 to U 1)Iis1r'1s; cowlujni tunnps 1 to 2 ])oun(l.s; liwiirf Eswex rajie 8 to 10 

 pounds; red, iiianiinotli, or criinson duver 15 to 20 poiind.s; cowpeas 90 j)()iiiidH; 

 soy beans 90 pounds; hairy vetch 40 to 50 pounds; alfalfa 30 pounds; liairy v»'tch 40 

 jiouiids and rye 30 jjounds; hairy vetcli 20 jxtniiils and oowpeas or soy beans 45 

 jjounds; hairy vetch 20 jiounds and turnips 12 ounces; hairy vetcli 20 pounds, 

 crimson clover 8 pounds, and turnips 8 ounces; hairy vetch 20 i)ounds and red, 

 niannnoth, or crimson clover 8 pounds; turnii)S 8 ounces, rye 20 jjounds, and red, 

 nianiinotb, or crimson clover 4 jMiunds; turnij)s 12 ounces and criinson clover 8 

 pounds; turnips 12 ounces an<l soy beans or cowj^eas 40 pounds; dwarf Essex rape 4 

 pounds ami rye 1 bushel; rai)e 4 pounds, soy beans or cowpeas 40 pounds, and rye 

 20 pounds; alfalfa 15 pounds and red, mammoth, or crimson clover 1\ pounds. 



FERTILIZING ORCHARDS. 



Professor Po))erts, of the New York Cornell Station, has reported 

 the residts of analyses of the leaves, wood, and fruit of the apple, and 

 discussed them with reference to the amounts of fertilizing: elements 

 removed from the soil b}^ an apple orchard in full bearint^ and b}- a 

 crop of nursery trees. " Similar work has also been reported by 

 Shutt^' and Browne, jr.' The subjoined table shows the percentage 

 composition of the ash of apples and the amount of fertilizers removed 

 from the soil, as calculated b}" these authorities. The data have been 

 made comparable hy assuming in each case an orchard 25 3'ears old, 

 set with 35 trees per acre, and ^nelding 15 bushels of fruit per tree. 



Fertilizers removed by a croj) of apples annually. 



In addition to the amount of fertilizers removed by the fruit, an 

 apple tree which had completed its growth and weighed 5,483 pounds 

 (trunk, lim])S, roots, and leaves) was foiuid by Roberts'* to contain 

 a))out it pounds nitrogen, 3 pounds phosphoric acid, and pounds 

 potash. With 35 trees per acre this would be equivalent to 315 

 pounds nitrogen, 105 pounds phosphoric acid, and 315 pounds potash. 

 H. Snj^der'' has shown that a crop of spring wheat jnelding 18 bushels 



«New York Cornell Rta. Bui. 103. <• Pennsylvania State Dept. Agr. Bui. 58. 



'' Canada Expt. Farms Rpts. 1896, p. 164. '' Minnesota Sta. Bui. 29. 



