APPENDIX. 187 



A limited number of dietary studies have been made in this country to 

 ascertain the effect of a liberal use of fruits and vegetables on the cost 

 of living, and in this connection the results are interesting. The results of 

 these experiments show the liberal use of either fresh fruits or vegetables 

 increases the cost of living out of proportion to the nutrients furnished. 



However, it should be remembered that the value of an article of diet 

 should not be measured entirely by its nutrients, as certain foods unoubtedly 

 have a certain medical and mechanical effect in stimulating the appetite 

 an counteracting any tendency to constipation. Prunes appear to be espe- 

 cially beneficial in this respect. Although containing a relatively small 

 amount of nutrients, they are nevertheless a very valuable article of diet, 

 and should tind a wider use in the American household. 



SOIL DRAUGHT OF THE PRUNE. 



The Asli (lull itff ("(imjw.ft'tion — The ash ingredients are among the more 

 important considerations of any crop, for they I'epresent the materials ex- 

 tracted from the soil. The following, taken from the pen of Prof. W. F. 

 Massey, is so apt that I quote : ''There is no doubt that the many failures 

 in fruit productions in the east are due to the exhaustion of the important 

 elements of plant food in the soil. The farmers realize the importance of 

 keeping up the fertility of the soil for tlie production of their annual croi>s 

 of grain and vegetables, but somehow the idea has been ])revalent that a 

 tree can take care of itself. Men look at the great trees of the forest and 

 see how they grow and that the soil increases in fertility under their influ- 

 ence, and think that the same should be the result in the growing of fruit 

 trees, while they are carrying off" continually, not only the fruit that the 

 orchard produces, but in many cases expect the land also to produce food for 

 their stock, and then when the orchard fails to give the expected fruit, and 

 this decrepit condition makes the trees alike prey to insects and fungous 

 diseases, they declare that the climate has changed and they can no longer 

 produce crops for that reason. It has really been because they and their 

 fathers have robbed the soil until the needed food for the production of 

 healthy trees and fruit is no longer available.'" 



There is an old trite saying that "forwarned is forearmed, "" and it is well 

 worth the while of the horticulturist to heed this warning, for he has no re- 

 course to crop rotation, but makes a constant and one-sided drain upon his 

 soil, which will surely show the effect of such cultivation, either in a lack of 

 proper fruit development or a constitutional disease of the tree. 



Work in this direction has progressed sufficiently to give some valuable 

 indications for the future, and when taken into account with the investiga- 

 tions made concerning the soils of the state* the data seems to confirm the 

 results there given, and to indicate the future needs of orchards in Western 

 Oregon. 



No complete analysis of the ash of any of the fruits have been made, the 

 work having been limited to the ash and those ingredients important from 

 the standpoint of fertilizing. By referring to the ''Statement of Averages."' 



*Oregon Bulletin No. -50. 



