H8 



STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Data on Fertilizer l^cmonstratioiis with pi^aches at Edward Skinner's, 



Hartford, 1920-1921. 



Nitrate of soda at $76.00 per ton. 



Acid phosphate at $25.00 per ton. 



Muriate of potash at $70.00 per ton. 



All fertilizer was applied on June 25th in 1920 and on April 12th in 1921 . 



In conclusion I would like to state that in my opinion there are a great 

 many problems in connection with the matter of fertilizers on fruit trees 

 and plants which need solving. 



There is a fertile field for the Experiment Station of the Michigan 

 Agricultural College along this line. 



In the meantime, I feel like saying, as I said at the mid-winter meeting 

 of the State Horticultural SocieU^ held in South Haven, in 1918, that a 

 larger per cent of the fruit trees in Vam Buren County are actually 

 slowly starving to death and nearly all are but poorly nourished. Also, 

 that I still believe that the first and most important step in working out 

 a practical system of propeil}' feeding our starving trees is to lime the 

 soil heavily to be able to grow legumes in the orchard and this, whether the 

 fruit grower be a cultivation cover crop man or a mulch advocate. 



I believe that we will find that not only will it pa}' big to feed our 

 trees with fertilizers but that it will also pay to feed the cover or mulch 

 crop well. 



If legumes are used as a cover crop or mulch crop it will be advisable 

 to use onl}^ acid phosphate and muriate of potash separately or in combi- 

 nation directly on the cover crop but if non-legume plants, such as rj^e 

 or June grass are used, by all means nitrate of soda or sulphate of am- 

 monia should be used. 



One point which I consider especially important in using soluble nitro- 

 gen, such as nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia, is to apply it only 

 at such times as the trees or plants can {juickly take it up, there may 

 be dangiM' of losing consi(l{Mai)l(^ of the fertilizer if there are not growing- 

 plant.-; (»!■ ticcs roady to take it up as soon as it dissolves in the soil water. 



