Winter Meeting. 405 



YIELD OP PEACHES IN UNFAVORABLE YEAR. 



Baskets per 

 acre. 



1889 

 1889 

 J 889 



Unmanured. 

 Fertilized — 

 Manured 



10.9 

 152.5 

 162.5 



It will be observed that the unmanured plot yielded in all about 

 eleven baskets per acre, while the manured plots produced more than 

 150 baskets. "The manure strengthened and stimulated the trees, and 

 enabled them to successfully resist such conditions as were fatal to the 

 crop on the unmanured land."** 



NITROGEN SUPPLY. 



On practically any soil in Missouri that is likely to be planted to 

 crcliard, it is possible to keep up the supply of nitrogen as well as the 

 supply of humus by growing such crops as have been indicated, and at 

 the same time pursue what is commonly known as "clean cultivation" 

 for the orchard. 



While the temptation is very strong to make the land earn some- 

 thing during the early life of the orchard when the trees are small and 

 occupy but a small portion of the area, and when, without some such 

 crop, the orchard is a dead expense, the utmost care should be exercised 

 on the lighter and thinner soils, lest the supply of humus and of avail- 

 able plant food be to a large extent exhausted by the growing of such 

 crops as corn, thus leaving the land in no condition to produce a thrifty 

 and healthy growth of trees. 



One can readily determine whether the nitrogen supply is inade- 

 quate for the trees by observing closely the color of the leaves and the 

 length of the growth in the average season. When these leaves are 

 somewhat sparse, that is. thin on the tree, pale or yellowish in color, it 

 is certain that the soil is deficient in available nitrogen. Likewise, if 

 the length growth in an average season, particularly when there is no 

 fruit crop to nourish, is deficient, the limbs knotty, the bark rough, 

 instead of the new growth being long, straight and having a smooth 

 bark, we may conclude that there should be more nitrogen present in 

 the soil to normally develop the tree. 



]f, on the other hand, the opposite of all these conditions are to 

 be observed, that is, an abundant growth of foliage of a dark, rich 



**Voorhees' "Fertilizers." Page 297. 



