Page 34 



BETTER FRUIT 



March 



WALKING 

 TRACTOR 



'T^HF^ Fa^eol Walking Trador is just the 

 -'- kind ot a Trador you would e.xped: the 

 builders of the widely known and successtul 

 Fageol Motor Truck to build. 



The Fageol utilizes a new traction principle — securing posi- 

 tive traction in all soils, with 64 walking legs, as does a 

 team with eight legs. 



There is a minimum of power-consuming parts — a live rear 

 axle and separate clutches in each wheel. 



It is a truly economical tractor — light, 

 well built and well balanced — a tractor 

 that will produce low cost power for 

 any farmer. 



Prife Sr2Q5.oo f. o. J. Oakland. Send for booklet of infor- 

 mation and catalog. 



BUTLER -VEITCH 



I N( ORIOK ATEO 



3 4 Syndicate Bldg., Oakland. Cal. 



coiimicrcial fertilizers without the use 

 of clover there is little evidence to sup- 

 port the idea that yields will compare 

 favorably with those where clover, 

 alfalfa, manure, etc., are used as a 

 basis. This is a i-ecommendation espe- 

 cially applicable to growers of berries 

 on some of the lighter soils in the 

 Lower Valley where water-holding 

 capacity and fertility are often poor on 

 account of the lack of humus. On 

 strong soils the need of additional fer- 

 tilizer is relatively less than on the 

 lighter soils. Probably on all soils a 

 moderate amount of nitrogen in a 

 readily available form is desirable. 

 Where plants are inclined to make 

 tardy growth during the first season 

 before production begins the use of 

 nitrate should be profitable. The aim 

 should be to secure a good, big thrifty 

 plant which is capable of bearing a 

 large crop. However, avoid extremes. 



In the use of nitrate let me urge mod- 

 eration. During hot picking seasons 

 such as the two last, there is grave 

 danger of producing soft berries unless 

 they are picked very promptly. During 

 a cool picking season the danger is 

 relatively less. In this respect it will 

 be interesting to know that the number 

 of picking days in 1915 and 1916 were 

 49 and 38, respectively, versus only 23 

 and 25 for 1917 and 1918; this as meas- 

 ured by the dates of first and last car- 

 loads of fruit shipped by the associa- 

 tion. As will be remembered, we did 

 not secure a good response from the 

 use of potash. In all fairness, how- 

 ever, will say that the berries from 

 plants thus treated were somewhat 

 firmer and possessed better shipping 

 quality than those taken from the 

 heavily nitrated plants. Possibly when 

 potash is again available it will be 

 advisable to use this in the combina- 

 tion of fertilizers used. Data appears 

 to bear out the idea that conservative 

 practices will give the best results. 

 Probably not over 220 pounds of nitrate 

 per season can be considered safe. 

 During some seasons this may be too 

 much. ^^Tlethe^ to apply in one or two 

 apijlications will depend upon the char- 

 acter of the soil very largely. With 

 porous soils such as that used in this 

 test, the two-application plan has 

 proved wise. We would advise the 

 grower to make suitable tests under his 

 own conditions in order that our store 

 of knowledge along this line may be 

 increased. 



Recommendations. 

 First of all, the evidence in favor of 

 the use of clover as a green manure 

 crop is very clear in that yields are 

 greatly increased even on virgin soils 

 such as those on which these tests were 

 made. In this way increased yields are 

 secured cheaply in that the need of 

 additional fertilizer is relatively less. 

 However, as may be seen, still further 

 increases in yields are possible by the 

 addition of commercial fertilizer such 

 as nitrate, which has given greatest 

 gains. On the other hand, while great 

 gains may be secured by the use of 



