Winter Meeting. 



289 



We may now proceed directly to an examination of the 

 amounts of these different nutrients in the plant, or more properly, 

 to the amounts which may be annually removed by the orchard pro- 

 ducts which are sent away from the farm. In this discussion we 

 will be limited to potash, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and lime, with 

 some data on magnesia. 



QUANTITIES OF SOIL INGREDIENTS WITHDRAWN BY VARIOUS FRUITS. 



(Table prepared by Prof. E. J. Wlck.son, Oalifornla Fruits, 1900, p. 157. Compiled from 

 Analyses by Mr. G. E. Oolby, University of California). 



tlncluding hulls. *Estimated. 



From the above table it will be seen that those fruits contain- 

 ing the greatest amount of plant nutrients per pound are not 

 those which concern particularly the Missouri orchardist. This 

 table is particularly instructive as regards the ratio of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, potash and lime. Whatever the total amounts 

 may be, there is a certain constancy in the ratio. This suggests 

 that a soil having sufficient available plant food to produce one 

 kind of fruit may, as far as plant food goes, produce another kind 

 of fruit equally well. A defective soil would doubtless be defective 

 for all fruits. 



The table above gives no data as to the needs per tree, or of a 

 given orchard crop per acre, such as the following: 



H— 19 



