234 ANNUAL REPORT. OF THE Off. Doc. 



The great value ot" potash fertilizers iu iiiaking fine fruit is eiii- 

 pliasizcd by a close scrutiny of such an analysis. The importance 

 of phosphoric acid cannot be deniedl, and the assertion that iron in 

 the soil makes the bright colored fruit is also supported by this analy- 

 sis. It must not be forgotten, however, that light and sunshine are 

 very important factors in producing high color in fruits. The large 

 percentage of lime contained in the tissue of the wood accounts for 

 the fact that orchards in calcareous soils are always healthy in ap- 

 pearance and live longer (other things being equal) than orchards in 

 gravelly and sandy soils. It also supports the recommendation that 

 orchards should be treated to an application of lime (about 50 bush- 

 els to the acre) once in four years. 



Nitrogen is not accounted for in the analysis as it passes off in 

 the burning of the tissues. 



The soda and magnesia are plant foods that are just as important 

 as the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, but all researches on the 

 subject have shown that these elements are supplied in soils in suffi- 

 cient quantities and in available forms so that we never need to be 

 concerned about them. 



The CHAIRMAN: Next we have "The Pruning of Fruit Trees," by 

 Dr. J. H. Funk. 



The following paper was then read: 



THE PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES. 



Uy Dh. J. n. Fu^K, BoyertC'wn, I'a 



The subject allotted me is one of the most important of all the sub- 

 jects with which the horticulturist has to deal. If in the construc- 

 tion of the large and -beautiful edifices that are being built in every 

 large city in our broad and beautiful country, you were to place their 

 construction into unskilled hands, guided by an uneducated brain, 

 although the stone, cement, wood and steel were of the best and a 

 skilled architect were to make the most elaborate plans, writing out 

 the minutest details for his guidance, yet failure would be inevitable; 

 his work would lack strength, beauty, symmetry. So it is with the 

 horticulturist, he needs the same skill, the same training, with this 

 difference. The horticulturist must have a better education, a more 



