PROCEEDINGS OP THE ANNUAL MEETING. 14S 



of wood ashes alone, on account of a deficiency of nitrogen in the soil, it 

 can be readily supplied by the use of decomposed stable manure, or of 

 some chemical fertilizer rich in nitrogen. 



Among the advantages of wood ashes and of other mineral fertilizers, 

 the fruitgrower should not overlook the fact that a firm growth of wood 

 can be secured, which will ripen properly, and thus varieties that are 

 deficient in hardiness can be carried through the winter, that would other- 

 wise be injured unless given some protection. The same holds true with 

 all fruits whose fruit buds are slightly tender, and when we consider that 

 a difference of a few degrees in the hardiness of some of our fruits will 

 often make all the difference between success and failure, we can readily 

 see that if the hardiness of a variety can be increased even to a slight 

 extent by the character of the food furnished, it should certainly have 

 some consideration when we determine the fertilizers to be used upon our 

 fruit crops. 



MINERAL FERTILIZERS. 



Many of our mineral fertilizers also have a marked effect in disintegrat- 

 ing the soil and thus supplying soluble plant food. To this extent they 

 may be called stimulating, but it can hardly prove very injurious to the 

 soil. From the fact that many of them are very concentrated, containing 

 as much plant food in 100 pounds as can be found in ten tons of stable 

 manure, it can be readily seen that the cost of application will be very 

 small and the transportation to distant orchards will be a small matter. 



We must not forget that many of them are of a strong alkaline nature, 

 and when able to disintegrate the soil, they will have an influence upon 

 the tender roots, if brought in contact with them, that will be very 

 destructive, and every precaution should be taken to have them thoroughly 

 incorporated with the soil, and that they are not in close proximity to the 

 roots. 



POTASH SALTS. 



When wood ashes can not be readily obtained, as a source of potash, we 

 have at hand in the German potash salts, a comparatively cheap method 

 of securing potash. These are waste materials from the German salt mines 

 and are sent to this country either in the form of kainit, a low grade of 

 muriate of potash combined with muriate of magnesia and sodium, or in 

 high grade muriates, or sulphates. 



When freight rates are high, we shall find it cheapest to get a high- 

 grade muriate or sulphate, containing about fifty per cent, of potash. 

 These salts cost from |45 to $50 per ton, the potash being reckoned at 

 about four and one half cents per pound. 



GROUND BONE AND BONE-BLACK. 



As a source of phosphoric acid we should look to ground bone or to dis- 

 solved bone-black. The former contains a small amount of nitrogen, but 

 the phosphoric acid is only slowly soluble, while in the dissolved bone-black: 

 it is readily available. The iron phosphates, rock phosphates, guanos, and 

 other forms have value, but for fruits the use of fine ground bone is pref- 

 erable. From 300 to 500 pounds per acre are usually used for bearing 



