Winter Med ins:. 207 



'<b 



applied depends upon the kind and condition of soil. The following' 

 facts are important, however, in determining how to fertilize a given fruit 

 plantation : • 



1. The effects of fertilizers upon orchard trees are usually more 

 apparent in the second year than they are during the year in which the 

 fertilizer is applied. For that reason, if it is desired to fertilize special 

 trees, in order to secure fine fruit for the St. Louis Exposition, the fer- 

 tilizers should be applied this spring to trees from which it is expected 

 to secure fruit for 1904 as well as for 1903. 



2. Nitrogen promotes wood growth, leaf growth and general vigor 

 of the tree itself. Potash and phosphoric acid, especially the former, 

 promote fruit production, 



3. If a tree is making weak growth, if its leaves are pale and 

 sickly and if the annual wood growth of the main limbs is less than- one 

 foot in length, it probably needs nitrogen. On the other hand, if wood 

 growth is: strong and vigorous and the leaves are of a dark, rich green 

 color, and especially if fruit is not forming sufficiently, potash and 

 phosphoric acid are probably needed. Too much nitrogen tends to cause 

 the tree to run to wood and leaf growth at the expense of fruit. 



4. A good all-round fertilizer for trees that are normal with re- 

 spect to wood growth and to fruit is, for each mature tree above 15 

 years old : 



Nitrate of soda, 2 pounds ; superphosphate, 2 pounds ; fine ground 

 bone, 3 pounds ; muriate of potash, 4 pounds. Apply half this quantity 

 to each ten-year-old tree. 



5. Where weak growth indicates that the tree needs nitrogen, apply 

 a liberal dressing of well-rotted barn-yard manure or four pounds of 

 nitrate of soda to each mature tree. 



6. If the tree is making strong wood and leaf growth, but fruit is 

 not satisfactory, apply either of the two following to each mature tree : 



(a) One peck of unleached wood ashes, or (b) 5 pounds of muriate 

 of potash, 3 pounds of superphosphate. 



The above fertilizers should not be applied in a mass, at the trunk 

 of the tree. They should be spread uniformly, from' near the trunk, 

 outward to just beyond the outer spread of the branches and worked into 

 the soil. 



Old trees, even if making fair growth, usually need the complete 

 fertilizer mentioned in No. 4, but young, vigorous trees usually require 

 only the potash and phosphoric acid fertilizers mentioned in No. 6. 



Small fruits should be treated the same as the tree fruits with 

 respect to fertilizers, using nitrogen when plant growth is weak, a com- 



