Page 26 



BETTER FRUIT 



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In cleaning earthenware 

 crocks and bowls 



Old Dutch 



saves a lot of work 



Pittsburgh Perfect Cement 



^QPlfgH ^^lIS are of the highest standard 



The Heads don't come off. Given Preference by Largest Pacific Coast Packers 



MANUFACTURED EXCLUSIVELY BY 

 PITTSBURGH STEEL COMPANY. Pittsburgh, Pa. 



A. C. RULOFSON COMPANY, Pacific Coast Agents 

 359 Monadnock Building, San Francisco, California 



Arcadia Irrigated Orchards 



THE LARGEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL ORCHARD PROJECT 

 IN THE ENTIRE WEST 



7,000 acres planted to winter apples. Gravity 

 irrigation. Located 22 miles north of Spokane, 

 Washington, directly on the railroad. We plant 

 and give four years' care to every orchard tract 

 sold. $125, first payment, secures 5 acres; $250, 

 first payment, secures 10 acres; balance monthly 



SEND FOR BOOKLET 



Arcadia Orchards Company 



Deer Park, Washington 



December 

 Maintaining Soil Fertility, Etc. 



Continued from page 8 



usually assi.mu'd to phosphoric acid, 

 polash and nilrogcn in connnercial fer- 

 lilizcrs, and are jjossibly somewhat too 

 high from a practical standpoint. On 

 the other hand, it must he borne in 

 mind that no account is taken of the 

 value of manure for improving the 

 mechanical condition, draina,i4e of soils 

 and the effect manure has on the chemi- 

 cals of the soil. Every forkful of man- 

 ure contains ndllions of bacteria which 

 have a benelicial effect on the soil to 

 which it is applied. I may say at this 

 point that a better understanding of the 

 bacteria of the soil will explain many 

 of the dillicult problems that confront 

 the soil chemist and the soil physicist. 



Rotation of Crops. 



The influence of rotation in the yield 

 of crops is very marked and is well 

 illustrated by the Rothamsted wheat 

 experiments. The yield of wheat grown 

 continuously without manure for fifty 

 years has been reduced from "iW-i bush- 

 els, the average maintained on the best 

 fertilized plat, to 15 bushels. \\Tiere 

 wheat has been rotated with roots, bar- 

 ley, clover, beans, or fallow, the wheat 

 being sown every fourth year for forty- 

 four years, without the addition of 

 manure or fertilizers of any kind, the 

 yield of wheat has not been sensibly 

 reduced. 



Tlie ultimate success of the fruit 

 grower of Washington will depend on 

 his ability to maintain the fertility of 

 his land. Our orchards have been 

 planted, for the most part, on sagebrush 

 or pine lands, and in most cases the 

 lanil was cleared of the native growth 

 and planted directly to trees. Tlius 

 there was little or no vegetable matter 

 in the soil, and since our growers, until 

 recently, have been very insistent on 

 clean cultivation, and stable manure is 

 scarce, on account of the scarcity of 

 farm animals, little has been added. 

 Does it not stand to reason that con- 

 tinued cio])ping to any tree fruit will 

 bring the same disastrous results that 

 befell the wheat growers'? 



On account of the nature of his plants 

 (trees) the grower must grow his crop 

 on one parcel for land for a long period 

 of time. Therefore it is dilficult or 

 almost impossible to get the beneficial 

 effects of rotation of crops. How, then, 

 are we to maintain the fertility of oin- 

 orchard lands'? This can be answered 

 in one statement: apjily barnyard ma- 

 nure. The judicious use of "companion 

 crops," "shade crops" or "cover crops" 

 in the orchard will take the place of 

 rotation of crops on the general farm 

 and also add humus and nitrogen when 

 legumes are used. The "companion 

 crop" and stock make it possible to 

 have barnyard manure on the fruit 

 farm. Alfalfa makes one of the best 

 and cheapest companion crops and is 

 successfulh grown in many orchards 

 in the Northwest. .Xfter it is estab- 

 lished in the orchard it is haniUed in 

 one of the following ways with success, 

 (lei)euding on the soil anil the man: 

 (1) Disk thoroughly in the .spring and 

 let grow the balance of the season with- 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



