/p/; 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page ij 



(luring the early season of 1914 and 

 later seeded to a mixture of clover and 

 alfalfa. A good stand was also secured 

 in this case. In 191,5 this orchard re- 

 ceived its lirst application of irrigation. 

 The orchard is still in sod. 



Now I believe I have given sufficient 

 introduction to these experiments and 

 the conditions prevailing to discuss re- 

 sults. Both of these orchards were 

 decidedly unproductive for a number 

 of years. The results show that no 

 matter in what form nitrate of soda 

 is applied that it exerts a marked in- 

 fluence beneficially to the trees in ques- 

 tion. If there were any practical differ- 

 ences as between the different methods 

 of application those facts were not 

 established by any of the careful meth- 

 ods of checking up employed. The re- 

 sults were almost immediate. All of 

 the fertilized trees became green and 

 vigorous and yielded heavily, in marked 

 contrast to the unfertilized nearby. 



Let us be more specific and discuss 

 yields. The chart shows this clearly 

 and gi-aphically. The yields per tree 

 on a loose-box basis for the three fer- 

 tilized plots in orchard No. 1 for 1914 

 are as follows: 4.1, .1, .2 versus .2 for 

 the check. In orchard No. 2 the yields 

 for the fertilized plots run as follows: 

 1.9, 2.3, 9.8 versus 2.1 boxes for the 

 check. It is admitted that these yields 

 are poor and that the results are some- 

 what inconsistent, but it must be re- 

 membered that both of these orchards 

 were badly run down, that some irregu- 

 larities with reference to time of appli- 

 cation existed during the first year, and 

 further, that no irrigation was given 

 orchard No. 2 for that year. Turn now 

 to 1915. The three fertilized plots in 

 orchard No. 1 give yields per tree as 

 follows: 8.1, 8.5. 6.0 versus .3 of a box 

 for tile check. Here we have an aver- 

 age increase of about seven boxes per 

 tree. Next, turn to orchard' No. 2 for 

 last vear. The fertilized plots give 

 yields as follows: 10.0, 9.9, 10.1 versus 

 only .9 of a box for check, an average 

 increase of about nine boxes per tree, 

 or about 1000%. 



Another important feature of this 

 work considers the character of blos- 

 soms and the percentages of fruit set. 

 On all the plots receiving nitrate of 

 soda the number borne to the spur was 

 considerably more than on the checks. 

 They were also much larger and more 

 highly colored. The few blossoms ap- 

 pearing on the check plots were not 

 only small in comparison but almost 

 devoid of color. Many of the buds did 

 not open. In both orchards percentages 

 in regard to the set of fruit were taken 

 both in .lunc and again at picking time. 

 Blossoms retaining at least one fruit 

 each were credited with 100% set. 

 With this in mind, turn to orchard 

 No. 2 for 1915. Figures show that the 

 fertilized plots in .lune retained be- 

 tween 70% and 80% of all their fruit as 

 against only 35%r for the check. During 

 the remainder of the growing season 

 these i)ercentages were reduced ap- 

 proximately one-half. However, the 

 ratio I have given you, two to one, re- 

 mained constant during the entire 

 growing season. 



The grower of a fancy Spitzenberg 

 realizes that it is necessary to produce 

 fruit of good size. He appreciates that 

 the trade is willing to make some con- 

 cessions as far as color is concerned, 

 providing sizes do not run below 138 to 

 150 to the box. Beyond that point it is 

 necessary to secure about 90%o red color 

 in order to pass muster as first-class 

 fruit. With this point in mind let us 

 again turn to orchard No. 2 for 1915. 

 For this work the fruit was graded to 

 three different sizes: 175 to 150 to the 

 box, 112 to 138, and 100 or larger. 

 These may be classed as small, medium 

 and large. It is significant that the 

 check showed as high as 76%. of all 

 its fruits running as small or smaller 

 than 150 to the box ver.sus only 18%c 

 for the fertilized plots. On the other 

 hand, the fertilized plots returned an 

 average of about 50%o large fruit versus 

 only 5%o for the check. Here we have 

 two extremes of undesirability. High 

 percentages of small fruit on the one 

 hand and large fruit on the other. 

 However, this last feature is not so 

 serious when it is learned that all of 

 the over-sized and under-colored speci- 

 mens from the fertilized plots might 

 have been thrown away and still the 

 balance would have been vastly, yes 

 about six or seven to one, in favor of 

 the fertilized plots. 



Let us refer briefly to vigor of tree. 

 Here again figures bring out a good, 

 strong contrast. In orchard No. 2 for 

 1915 there was an abundance of dark 

 green vigorous foliage on all of the 

 fertilized plots in marked contrast to 

 the leaves on the check. Possibly it 

 may be said that leaf development was 

 slightly excessive in order to insure 

 the best color of fruit, but here is the 

 point I wish to show. The fertilized 

 leaves averaged 2.8 inches long, or an 

 increase of 24%o. They were also 7% 

 wider. These figures also substantially 

 represent the figures secured in orchard 

 No. 1 for the same year and also for 

 orchard No. 2 for 1916. 



Again, notice terminal growth. The 

 chart shows the growth in inches on an 

 annual basis for 1914 and 1915. It 

 shows unmistakably which way the 

 wind is blowing. These figures are im- 

 portant as they indicate cpiite closely 

 the general vigor of tree. The figures 

 for the fertilized plots for orchard 

 No. 1 are as follows: 15.2, 11.4, 12.9 

 inches, respectively, versus only 6.9 

 inches for the check. In orchard No. 2 

 the figures run as follows: 8.4, 10.3, 

 10.9 inches versus only 6.6 for the 

 check. An average growth of from ten 

 to fifteen inches under these circum- 

 stances is admittedly good. 



I believe that we may now well turn 

 to results for 1916. Recall again, please, 

 tlial no fertilizer was applied this year. 

 We have seen what the influence of 

 this fertilizer is. It is also apparent 

 that during the past two years it has 

 been applied sufficiently often and in 

 as large amounts as we may safely do 

 so. The question uppermost in our 

 minds this year was: How long may 

 the beneficial efiects noted for the first 

 two years be expected to last? Here 



Continued on page 2C 



The Life of 

 Chilean Nitrate Deposits 



A. D. 1917 



Total ) 720 



Nitrate deposits ) million 

 in Chile ) tons 



300 

 years 



Estimated life 

 of deposits at 

 present rate of 



World's 

 consumption 



For Reliable Information Write 



Dr. WM. S. MYERS, Director 

 Chilean Nitrate Propaganda 



25 Madison Avenue. New York 



SIMPSON a DOELLER CO. 



1423 NORTHWESTERN BANK BLDG. 

 PORTLAND, OREGON. 



E.SHELLEY /nOROAN MGR^ . 



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