14 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



by that we are making some progress, but 1 wish to emphasize again 

 that each individual .should study his own conditions." 



"Now let me illustrate what I mean: Here I hold in my hand 

 this tine large specimen ; what is (lie matter with it? You say it is 

 overgrown, and that means that if you should cut into it you would 

 lind it was spongy. Now here is another apple even more pronounced 

 in this respect, you do not want to raise that kind of apples so you 

 must take steps to have your trees yield a different type of fruit, but 

 here is another — one of the same variety — that is in ideal condition — 

 right size, high color, free from blemishes and would be in demand in 

 any market. Now, this is what we are trying to work for. These 

 two types of apples were grown in the same orchard two rows apart; 

 the tree from which this apple (exhibiting specimen) was grown is 

 getting an excess of phosphoric acid and potash, or a minimum amount 

 of nitrogen, while this specimen shows that the tree is receiving the 

 opposite, so you see that in this orcharding proposition every grower 

 must be' a careful student of his individual conditions, and in time I 

 am satisfied that every true apple grower will be able to solve these 

 problems that confront him under his conditions, to his satisfaction." 



A Member: "I have had an idea that we might feed color into the 

 apples and have tried phosphoric acid and potash in about 400 pounds 

 kp the acre, and use bone meal at the rate of 1,000 pounds, but in three 

 years we have not received satisfactory results; perhaps it takes even 

 more time to get good results, I do not know as for that." 



A Member— "What kind of soil do you have?" 



Answer — "Clay loam, the clay is quite thick, dry in dry seasons, 

 but we have not been troubled any with dry weather during the past 

 two years. Either our trees have a full meal and are not taking in 

 any bone meal, or the bone meal was not good — though, I do not think 

 i his could be the case, as we procured it at the Agricultural College, 

 and ii must be all right. 1 think there must be some other reason. 

 I know on a lighter soil one gets results from manure quicker than on 

 clay soil, this is our experience, and we are feeding ten acres out of 

 forty." 



.Mr. Overton — There is an idea that I am working out in connection 

 with the feeding of an orchard and that is to lessen tree competition 

 ;is much as possible for food and moisture. This is done by inter- 

 spersing the summer varieties among the winter. For instance, the 

 Duchess is interspersing among my winter varieties. Their demands 

 upon the soil are early in the season. And their work is completed be- 

 fore the winter varieties make their demands upon the soil. I am quite 

 sure that this is an important point that will be worked out in the 

 future and especially where there is close planting of trees. I have 

 but little use for second grade apples and I think that this grade can 

 he almost wholly done away with through proper effort. 



A Member — When we have one limb that will grow these spongy ap- 

 ples one year and small ones the next and vice versa, what are we 

 to do? 



Mr. Hall — T have known these conditions; and I will go still further 

 and say that while my orchard was growing up I was running a 

 saw-mill and had an abundance of wood-ashes. I set mv teamster to 



