1911 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 21 



every year the tree will get into the 

 habit of producing a certain amount of 

 wood and fruit, and tht-rc is little occa- 

 sion for severe pruning. If the pruning 

 during the first three or four years of 

 an orchard after planting is properly 

 performed, there will subseeiuently be 

 little need for removing large branches. 

 The pruning will then consist merely of 

 the removal of superfluous shoots or 

 branches that interlace, and this kind 

 of pruning does not upset or disturb the 

 growth and fruiting habits of the tree. 

 Winter jjruning should be delayed until 

 March or until after cold weather has 

 passed. Pruning during December and 

 January is often disastrous in Eastern 

 Colorado, as the wounds are apt to 

 crack from the cold and thus make 

 lodging places for diseases. Further, 

 the wounds made at this time will not 

 heal over so rapidly, while if pruning 

 is done late in the season the wound 

 will not crack and will heal over as 

 soon as growth starts. If the removal 

 of large branches is necessary, the 

 wounds should be painted, using com- 

 mon thick white paint. Severe pruning 

 in the winter also tends to increase and 

 encourage the growth of water sprouts. 

 — E. P. Sandsten, Colorado Agricultural 

 College, Fori Collins. 



Fall Treatment of Grasshoppers 



The past summer has been unusually 

 free from ravages by grasshoppers, but 

 that is no guarantee that there will be 

 no damage next year. The wise farmer 

 will use the fall and winter months to 

 put in practice methods of control. The 

 only way to treat the grasshopper dur- 

 ing the winter is to plow the ground 

 where the pods and eggs are deposited 

 to a depth of three or four inches. 

 Generally the eggs are more abundant 

 in some localities than others. This is 

 very apt to be true regarding sod places 

 along fences and ditch banks. With a 

 spade in hand the farmer may investi- 

 gate the various localities where eggs 

 are apt to be found and discover their 

 presence by examining the ground to 

 the depth of two inches. After such a 

 survey he will know whether certain 

 sections need treating or not. It has 

 been found at the agricultural college 

 that if the eggs are exposed to the 

 weather during the fall and also winter 

 the greater proportion of them will be 

 killed by birds and unfavorable climatic 

 conditions. — S. Arthur Johnson, Colo- 

 rado Agricultiual College, Fort Collins. 



Pruning for More Fruit at Less Cost 



The purjjose of pruning is to get more 

 fruit and better fruit at less cost per 

 box, said Professor V. H. Gardner of the 

 Oregon Agricultural College, in address- 

 ing an apple growers' association. The 

 shaping of trees is done by training, 

 and we prune to modify fruit habits 

 and control the amount and quality of 

 the fruit. We can control this fruiting 

 habit of trees only as we control the 

 machinery for fruit ])roduction. The 

 fruit spurs are the mechanism that the 

 tree usually employs in its work of 

 fruit-bearing. And pruning is generally 

 regarded as the practice through which 



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Demonstrations will be given at the Manufacturers' Land and Products Show, 

 Portland, Oregon, October 'ili to November 14, 1914; also at the office of the company, 

 207 Clay street, Portland. Oregon, by appointment. 



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Oregon Heating Company 



207 Clay Street, Portland, Oregon 



Statement of the Ownership, Management, Circulation, Etc. 

 of "Better Fruit," Published Monthly at Hood River, Oregon 



Required by the Act of August 24, 1912. 



Note: This statement is to be maxie in duplicate, both copies to be delivered by the 

 publisher to the postmaster, who will send one copy to the Third Assistant Postmaster 

 General (Division ot Classification), Washington, D. C, and retain the other In the 

 flies of the post office. 



Editor, E. H. Shepard. Post office address. Hood River, Oregon. 



Managing Editor. E. H. Shepard. 



Business Manager, E. H. Shepard. 



Publisher, Better Fruit Publishing Company; E. H. Shepard, sole owner and pub- 

 lisher. Post office address, Hood River, Oregon. 



Owners: (If a corporation, give names and addresses of stockholders holding one 

 per cent or more of total amount of stock.) E. H. Shepard, sole owner. 



Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders, holding one per cent or 

 more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 



Average number of copies of each issue of this publication sold or distributed through 

 the mails or otherwise, to paid subscribers during the six months preceding the date of 

 this statement: (This information is required from daily newspapers only.) 



E. H. SHEPARD, Editor and Publisher. 



Sworn to and subscribed before me this 5th day of October. 1914. 



(Seal) ERNEST C. SMITH. 



My commission expires August, 1916. 



Notarv- Public for ( )rf 



we directly influence fruit spurs. All 

 fruit growers know that we can prune 

 them out and reduce their number. 

 Many believe that we can stimulate 

 their formation and vigor by certain 

 pruning practices. These beliefs are 

 founded upon careful observation and 

 experience. 



Nitrate of Soda on Old Meadows 



On an old meadow which has not 

 been properly fertilized a top dressing 

 of nitrate of soda is almost certain to 

 show very marked results. The farmer 

 is likely to be so enthusiastic over the 

 showing made that he at once concludes 

 that nitrogen is the one factor needed 

 to make his hay crop a profitable one. 

 Right here lies the danger. While the 

 first ai)plication of nitrate of soda may 

 show these marked results, it is not by 

 any means safe to conclude that nitro- 

 gen is the only element of fertility 

 needed. Repeated applications of nit- 

 rate of soda may soon result in no 

 apparent benefit, and even result in a 

 final condition worse than Ihc original 

 condition. The first application of nit- 

 rate of soda shows such m;u-ked results 



because there is a marked deficiency of 

 nitrogen in the soil; but there is suffi- 

 cient of the other fertilizing elements, 

 particularly phosphorus and potassium, 

 to balance the nitrogen used. The in- 

 creased crop yields from the use of 

 nitrate of soda make an increased drain 

 upon the available phosphorus and pot- 

 assium of the soil. No effort being made 

 to replace these elements thus removed, 

 the time very soon comes when no re- 

 sponse is received from the application 

 of nitrate of soda, because the phos- 

 phoric acid and potash have been de- 

 pleted, or, in other words, are the limit- 

 ing factors. As a rule, where nitrate of 

 soda is used as a fertilizer it is a safe 

 principle to use in connection with it 

 some form of phosphorus and potas- 

 sium, having in mind permanent results 

 rather than a temporary increase due 

 fo the nitr;ite of soda. 



PRACTICAL 



orchard man and farmer open for poBl- 

 tlon. Will consider working Interest In 

 etjuipped farm or orchard. .Address "B," 



cnre of "Better KruU." 



