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STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Soils No. 1 and 2 are from newly cleared land in Manistee county. 

 The soil represented by No. 1 was set to peach trees last spring and 

 No. 2 was set, during the spring of 1911, to apples, pears, peaches and 

 cherries. According to the classification previously given, both these 

 soils would be ranked as poor but it would be difficult to find a better or 

 more thrifty looking lot of trees than these were last July. How long 

 they will continue in their present condition without fertilization, is 

 impossible to say but I predict that with good cultivation and cover 

 crops they will continue to make good growth for many years to come. 

 Soils Nos. 3 and 4 also come from Manistee county and represent the 

 so-called Jack Pine sand region. Soil No. 3 was taken in a young 

 orchard set in 1911, which has had a crop each of rye, clover and vetch 

 turned under. While this orchard is not as favorably located as the 

 two just referred to, yet the trees have made good growth and were look- 

 ing thrifty. Soil No. 4 was taken in a corn field across the road from 

 this orchard and nothing had been done to it further than plowing and 

 fitting for the corn crop. It is needless for me to say that the corn 

 crop was looking very poor and weak. A good illustration of the un- 

 adaptability of crop to soil. Soils No. 5, 6 and 7 are from Benzie county. 

 Number 5 was taken in an orchard, which is about 20 years old. This 

 orchard has been well taken care of and has received frequent applica- 

 tions of manure and commercial fertilizers in addition to having cover 

 crops turned under. Number 6 was taken in a pasture adjoining this 

 orchard and so far as is known has never received any manure or 

 fertilizers. Number 7 was taken from the roadside opposite this orchard. 

 The only marked difference in these three soils is found in the amount 

 of phosphoric acid and lime contained in them. This may be accounted 

 for in part at least by the addition of manure and commercial fertil- 

 izers; but if we assume that this orchard soil originally contained the 

 same amount of phosphoric acid as the pasture soil then the difference 

 between them now is greater than the amount present in the soil before 

 the orchard was planted. This difference is equivalent to 10,000 pounds 

 of acid phosphate per acre 7 inches, or to an annual application of 500 

 pounds of acid phosphate over a period of 20 years. Such an amount 

 of phosphoric acid has in all probabilities not been added to this soil. 

 It is more plausible that in taking the sample some recently applied 

 fertilizer, which had not been thoroughly incorporated with the soil, was 

 accidently included or else the natural and unavoidable error of analy- 

 sis is, in this case, more pronounced than in the other cases. It may 



