232 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



be given. If the soil is in condition to furnish a good clover sod to be 

 turned under, no better preparation can be furnished, and frequently it will 

 supply plant food until the trees come into bearing. If the clover soH 

 can not be secured, and if the soil is not rich enough to grow a good crop 

 of corn, some manure or fertilizer should be applied. The application of 

 ten tons of decomposed stable manure broadcast, before the land is dragged 

 in the spring, will supply food for the growth of the trees and for the 

 crops that may be grown between them; a method of supplying food to 

 the trees, without feeding the other crop and by the use of a comparatively 

 small amount of manure, is to spread three or four forkfuls evenly over 

 spots four or five feet in diameter, where the trees are to be planted. In 

 any case, it should be incorporated with the soil and not allowed in con- 

 tact with the roots. While the application of stable manure is advisable for 

 the young trees upon poor soil, rather better results in some respects can be 

 obtained when they are of bearing age, particularly upon soil that contains a 

 fair amount of organic matter, by the use of the so-called mineral fertilizers. 

 It is known that if we supply plants with potash, phosphoric acid, and 

 nitrogen they can, as a rule, obtain the remaining elements needed for their 

 growth from the soil and atmosphere. The nitrogen is necessary for all 

 growth of plants, but if present in excess it is likely to cause a soft, watery 

 growth. It is generally present in sufficient quantities in soils of fair 

 fertility to carry the trees up to the bearing age, provided the soil is not 

 robbed of its fertility by other crops. Phosphoric acid is also found in all 

 parts of plants, but is particularly abundant in the seeds, and as soluble 

 phosphoric acid is gradually removed from the soil by successive crops, 

 there are few bearing orchards that will not be benefited by its use as a 

 fertilizer. We have at hand materials that supply these elements in a con- 

 centrated form, at prices no higher than would be the cost of the more 

 bulky stable manure, when it has to be hauled any distance. 



One of the best fertilizers for orchards will be found in unleached wood 

 ashes. They contain all the elements needed for plant growth, except 

 nitrogen, and these are present not only in about the proportions needed by 

 the trees, but they are in combinations that can be readily taken up by them. 

 A good sample of wood ashes should contain about three to five per cent, of 

 potash, and one and one half per cent, of phosphoric acid; if they have 

 been leached or washed by rains the amount will be considerably reduced, 

 while in some cases the amount of both potash and phosphoric acid is 

 fifty per cent, larger than is given. From a half peck to a bushel of wood 

 ashes per tree, according to the size, can always be used to advantage, and 

 if the trees are large, so as to cover the ground, it will be best to use from 

 100 to 150 bushels per acre, scattered broadcast, covering the entire ground. 

 Since ashes tend to render a clay soil still more tenacious, care should be 

 taken that they are not applied in large quantities upon stiff soils. 



Among other sources of potash ai-e the German potash salts, which are 

 imported as muriates and sulphates, and contain varying proportions of 

 chloride of sodium (common salt), and chloride of magnesium. The best 

 grades contain about 50 per cent, of potash, and are preferable to the 

 cheaper ones, as the expense of transporting the worthless materials in 

 the lower grades makes the potash cost more per pound than in the 

 higher grades. 



From one half pound to three pounds per tree, or from fifty to three hun- 

 dred pounds per acre, should be applied, taking care it is not brought in too 

 close contact with the roots. In soils deficient in potash it must be applied 



