No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 413 



busy at this season and he will likely exercise more care in preparing 

 the land as well as in setting the trees than during the rush of spring 

 work. 



The fertilizer question in its relation to orcharding demands more 

 thought and attention. Three elements must be considered, namely, 

 the needs of the tree and fruit as determined by chemical analyses, 

 the needs of the particular tree under cultivation as indicated by the 

 character of leaf, wood and fruit, and the chemical composition of 

 the soil which is being cultivated. Having determined as nearly as 

 possible these three quee^tions, and with a knowledge of the functions 

 of the elements of plant food found in fertilizers, the grower is pre- 

 pared to nourish his trees intelligently and in a way that will result 

 in a sturdy, healthy leaf and wood growth and fruit satisfactory in 

 yield and quality, provided other conditions are favorable. 



Perhaps too much importance has been placed upon the use of 

 potash. Many fruit growers believe that potash is the one element 

 meded and that liberal applications of it will generally secure the 

 desired results. The question is frequently asked or implied at 

 farmers' institutes, "Do my trees need potash?" While it is seldom 

 that a fruit grower inquires about the use of nitrogen for his trees. 

 If the orchardist possesses a knowledge of the effects of potash and 

 nitrogen he will secure more reliable and certain information by 

 asking the trees what they need than by quizzing the best informed 

 institute workers who have never seen the trees in question. 



No doubt thousands of trees in our State do not make leaf and 

 wood growth sufficient to produce large and regular crops. There 

 must be leaf and wood before there can be fruit. It is nitrogen that 

 plays the most important part in the development of wood and 

 foliage, while potash is employed most largely in the fruit. The ex- 

 clusive use of nitrogen should not be advocated any more than potash 

 alone. But liberal applications of stable manure (which is rich in 

 nitrogen) or sodium nitrate, with fair quantities of potash and phos- 

 phoric acid, would undoubtedly prove more valuable in many or- 

 chards than potash alone. The Massachusetts Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station has found that sodium nitrate is more efficient than 

 stable manure when applied to orchards in sod, because the nitrate 

 is in an available condition as soon as dissolved and penetrates more 

 quickly and thoroughl}^ through the surface soil than the nitrogenous 

 compounds of stable manure. The question of orchard fertility is 

 purely a local one. Diligent study and close observation will enable 

 the grower to determine the proper proportions of the elements that 

 should be applied artificially. 



The orchard is too frequently considered of secondary importance. 

 The land is devoted to hay or grain and no fertility is returned. 

 Such a plan must be condemned because it is unsatisfactory for both 



