220 REPORT 0¥ STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



unleached ashes contains as much plant nutriment as five tons of ordinary 

 barn manure, and, whenever obtainable, ashes should be used in preference 

 to any other fertilizer. 



MANUFACTURED FERTILIZERS 



There are many kinds of manufactured fertilizers, some of which are 

 valuable for special soils, but to determine just what brand to use is a diffi- 

 cult question to decide without knowing what elements are lacking in the soil. 

 The three elements most commonly deficient in soil are nitrogen, potash, 

 and phosphoric acid, and chemical fertilizers that contain the largest per 

 cent, of these substances will be the most economical and beneficial. 



A fertilizer containing one and one-half to two percent, of nitrogen, seven 

 to nine per cent, of available phosphoric acid, ten to twelve per cent, of potash, 

 will give excellent results when applied to orchard land in quantity ranging 

 from four hundred to six hundred pounds per acre. 



GROWLING OF CLOVERS. 



Western prairie lands are genei-ally sufficiently fertile for an orchard 

 growth, and need no enriching until the trees begin to show signs of weak- 

 ness in vigor from crop-bearing, and, even then, may be invigorated by use 

 of crops of red or crimson clover yrown among the trees, allowing the crop 

 to fall and decay upon the ground each year. By this treatment a large 

 amount of decaying vegetable matter will accumulate upon the land, rich 

 in plant food and forming a moist protection from hot summer sun and deep 

 freezing during winter, a condition conducive to health and vigor in tree. 

 All lands lacking in humus can have this element restored to a great extent 

 by such treatment, and oi'chards which have been treated thus with red 

 clover maintain greater longevity, fruitfulness, and greater excellence in 

 fruit product, besides such treatment dispenses with the costly necessity of 

 using special fertilizers. 



SIGN OF NEED OF MANURE AND CULTIVATION. 



As to the indications when a bearing orchard needs stimulating, the 

 eminent pomologist, Doctor Warder, once said: ''When the growth of 

 the terminal branches fails to make an annual extension of at least one foot 

 in length, the tree should be stimulated by manuring the land and giving it 

 thorough cultivation. 



PREPARING THE LAND FOR PLANTING. 



The general woi'k of preparing the land for planting an orchard consists 



■ in deep tilth, and the more thoroughly it is done the more certain is success. 



The preparation had best be done late in the fall, when it will be ready for 



early spring planting, or for fall planting if pi'eferred. Many successful 



orchardists, especially in the western states, i)repare the land by opening 



