Page 38 



BETTER FRUIT 



March 



Corrugated Joint Fasteners 



Make Strong 2-Piece End Boxes. 



Acme Patented Divergent Saw Edge Fasteners will not 



pull out and holds better than cleats or glue. 



ACME STEEL 

 BOX STRAPPING 



I Write near- 

 , est office 

 for samples 

 and prices. 



ACME 



Strapping 



protects 



goods 



from 



damage 



and 



pilferage. 



Specify ACME CORRUGATED JOINT FASTENERS. 



ACME STEEL GOODS CO., Mfrs. 



Works: 2840 Archer Avenue. CHICAGO 



Branch and Warehouse: 311 California Street, San Francisco 



Warehau«»<i Only Eyres Storage and Dist. Co., Seattle 

 warehouses Only. ^^^^^^„ Transfer Co., Portland, Ore. 



Farmers, Fruit Growers and Home Owners 

 ATTENTION ! 



Write for our big descriptive catalogue and prices for trees delivered to your 

 nearest railway station, freight paid. 



PEARS PAY. Chester Ferguson, of Yakima, Washington, realized an average 

 of $2,016 per acre for pears this year, 1918. PLANT PEARS. 



Agents wanted to represent us in each locality. Address 



OREGON NURSERY COMPANY 



ORENCO, OREGON 



EWBALTESAND 

 COMPANY 



Printers • Binders 



Unexcelled facilities for the production of Catalogues, Book- 

 lets, Stationery, Posters and Advertising Matter. Write us 

 lor prices and specifications. Out-of-town orders executed 

 promptly and accurately. We print BETTER FRUIT. 



CORNER FIRST AND OAK STREETS 

 PORTLAND, OREGON 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



Productive Mortality of Prunes 



Continued from pilfie 10. 



thai irrigation, if praclicablo, would 

 ri'iiic'dy tlie mailer. Many orcliards, 

 liowevcr, are located in tlie hills, where 

 it is out of the (luestion to practice 

 irrigation. 



-Sucee.ssfnl orchardisls attempt to 

 increase the hmniis content of the soil 

 by turning under cover crops of vetch, 

 oats or rye and, when it may be se- 

 cured, manuring heavily. The stand 

 of a cover crop depends upon the 

 weather conditions in September, 

 largely, and many failures occur. Every 

 crop that is turned under increases the 

 chance for succeeding with the next 

 crop, since it adds to the humus con- 

 tent, which in turn holds the moisture 

 better and the soil does not dry out so 

 quickly in the summer. The usual 

 practice is to sow the cover crop in 

 August or early September, previous to 

 the harvest rains. Orchards that are 

 deficient in humus are, as a rule, also 

 lacking in nitrogen, since the humus 

 has a tendency to prevent the burning 

 out of this valuable clement in the sum- 

 mer and the leeching away during the 

 rainy season. The vetches add nitro- 

 gen, and it is common observation that 

 orchards respond quickly to this prac- 

 tice. The soil becomes easier to work 

 early in the spring, does not run to- 

 gether badly in the winter and holds 

 the moisture better in the summer. 

 The trees take on a darker-green hue, 

 the fruit hangs on better and is larger. 

 We know of one grower who secured 

 $1,248 from two acres simply by plow- 

 ing under large amounts of manure for 

 several successive seasons. Another 

 man got splendid results with sheep 

 manure which he was in position to 

 procure, causing the old orchard to 

 take on renewed life and to bear 

 heavily. 



Manure is not available in most of 

 the prune sections, and we have been 

 watching with interest a number of 

 prominent growers who have been re- 

 duced to the expediency of using 

 nitrate of soda, a quick-acting nitro- 

 genous fertilizer of great value. This 

 was first brought to the notice of fruit- 

 men in the Northwest by the Hood 

 River Branch Experiment Station, 

 where some very remarkable results 

 were secured in rejuvenating old apple 

 orchards. These prune men, despite 

 the wartime price of the fertilizer, 

 assert that .1!30 an acre added in the 

 form of a quick-acting chemical plant 

 food is well worth the cost. If no 

 other effect than to stimulate new 

 growth is secured the investment, theo- 

 retically, would be repaid. A Douglas 

 County grower, noted for his pro- 

 gressiveness, claims after one season's 

 trial that the fruit avoided the unusual 

 pi'e-harvest drop of last season, leaving 

 the primes to increase their weight 

 appreciably. A heavy use of nitrates 

 is expected in the Umpqua Valley 

 this spring. Through the county agent 

 enough orders have been secured for a 

 carload, which by this co-operative 

 effort will reduce the cost very much, 

 bringing it within the reach of the 

 average grower. 



