Page 



16 



BETTER FRUIT 



sum niiiiiiiiiiiii inn i inn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiimmmiiimiiiiiiiiiiiimmiimiiiimiimmiiiiii iiimiiiiii 



For Quick, Effective Spraying 



THE experienced orchardist, the 

 man who understands the difficul- 

 ties ordinarily encountered in efficient 

 spraying work will appreciate the prac- 

 tical, sturdy construction of the Alpha 

 Power Sprayer. Your careful analysis 

 of the operation of each feature will 

 show why the Alpha is a dependable 

 HIGH PRESSURE spraying machine 

 and a safe, permanent investment. 



BUILT IN FIVE SIZES 



THE PUMP 



Equipped with the Alpha Auto- 

 matic Pressure Regulator, which 

 holds the pressure steadily at the 

 desired point and relieves the en- 

 gine and pump of unneccessary 

 strain when nozzles are closed. All 

 parts of pump are readily accessi- 

 ble and interchangeable. 



SEND NOW FOR 



THE ENGINE 



The power behind the pump is the de- 

 pendable high class Alpha Engine. When 

 spraying you have no time to lose tinker- 

 ing with an unreliable engine. Intelligent 

 handling of the Alpha guarantees you free- 

 dom from troublesome delays. No crank- 

 ing necessary; no batteries. A vigorous, 

 full-powered engine that will last for years 



COMPLETE INFORMATION 



DE LAVAL DAIRY SUPPLY CO, 



61 Beale Street, San Francisco, Cal. 



Potash and Plant Diseases 



IT is a well known fact that all plants, 

 including apple and other trees, are 

 more subject to the attacks of fungus 

 diseases and even of insects when not 

 plentifully supplied with potash. This 

 is particularly true when the nitrogen 

 supply is kept up while the potash sup- 

 ply becomes exhausted. The present 

 situation, therefore, may be studied 

 from this angle with a good deal of 

 interest. 



For several seasons now potash has 

 been almost impossible to obtain on an 

 economical basis for fertilizing pur- 

 poses. Little advance has taken place 

 in the price of phosphorus-bearing fer- 

 tilizers. Nitrogen, though high in price, 

 has been continued in fertilizers to as 

 large an extent as ever. Viewed hastily, 

 the results over the country in crops 

 grown have called out remarks to the 

 effect that potash may not be of so 



December 



much importance as a fertilizing ele- 

 ment after all. Observed with more 

 care, new phases of the matter present 

 themselves. 



In many places crops apparently con- 

 tinue to grow well without getting much 

 new potash, which goes to prove only 

 that they are securing a liberal amount 

 from the native and usually insoluble 

 supply in nearly every soil. Elsewhere, 

 or on other farms not so well taken 

 care of, the crops seem to start well, 

 but to pause in their growth when 

 nearly matured, and from then onward 

 to become stunted. Rust of wheat and 

 grasses, and many other troubles, have 

 been noted with increasing frequency. 

 The various fungus diseases of fruits 

 certainly have shown an increase in 

 those orchards which formerly had ap- 

 plications of potash along with other 

 plant foods. The connection between 

 potash and the resistance of plants and 

 trees to disease is easily seen, as also is 

 the fact that an excess of nitrogen at 

 the same time tends to decrease resist- 

 ance to the troubles and to make the 

 plants and trees more liable to them. 



The fertilizer situation still is as badly 

 out of balance as ever, for there seems 

 to be no immediate relief in sight re- 

 specting a potash supply. The only 

 thing that can be done is to give thor- 

 ough, deep cultivation, and to provide 

 plentiful supplies of organic matter in 

 the lower soil. If this is done moisture 

 and heat conditions will be good, and 

 bacterial activity will liberate much 

 insoluble potash. 



Those fruit growers who recently 

 blasted their orchard ground are for- 

 tunate, as they probably are experienc- 

 ing less trouble- than others. Good 

 orchards that have not been subsoiled 

 should be treated to that kind of inten- 

 sive tillage just as soon as the ground 

 is dry enough, and in preparation for it 

 heavy-rooted cover crops might be 

 sown at once. The later blasting will 

 not hurt the plants, while the roots will 

 be ready to penetrate the loosened and 

 crumbled lower soil at once. 



A quantitative analysis of almost any 

 ordinary soil in a recognized orchard 

 section will show many thousand 

 pounds of actual potash in each acre to 

 a depth of four feet. Most of it is of the 

 native supply, dissolved out of minerals 

 present in the original rock from which 

 the soil is derived. Some of it, however, 

 is simply potash that was applied in 

 commercial fertilizers, and which re- 

 verted to insoluble forms owing to im- 

 proper or unfavorable soil conditions 

 prevailing at the time. 



There is enough in the top foot of 

 ground to last many years — if it would 

 by any means be released fast enough 

 to supply trees properly. As it cannot 

 be, a second and third and fourth foot 

 of soil must be put to work and sub- 

 jected to the action of the right amount 

 of moisture, to heat, to the effect of 

 organic matter decaying, and to bac- 

 terial activity. Enough potash then 



