LAYING OUT THE ORCHARD. 425 



enough, we like the plan of throwing in a half pail of water after 

 we have the roots covered a little and then finish covering the roots. 

 Soon after the trees have been set out mulch them with some coarse 

 manure, so as to keep the sun and winds from drying up the soil 

 around the young trees in time of drouth. I do not think that I 

 ought to advise as to what varieties to get, but see what varieties 

 do the best in your locality. Also consult the list recommended 

 by the horticultural society for the state of Minnesota. 



PLANT FOOD FOR HORTICULTURAL CROPS. 



PROF. HARRY SNYDER, MINN. STATE AGRICULTURAI, COLLEGE, 

 ST. ANTHONY, PARK. 



During recent years the attention of scientists has been given not 

 only to the feeding of farm animals, but also to the feeding of agri- 

 cultural and horticultural crops. There is a marked similarity be- 

 tween the subjects of animal feeding and plant feeding. In the 

 case of animals, the influence which certain foods have upon the 

 development of the body and the production of muscle, bone and 

 fat are comparatively well understood. The laws which underlie 

 the development and growth of plants are, in general, similar to the 

 laws which govern the development and growth of animal bodies. 

 In the case of animals, the effects of food are capable of being ob- 

 served more accurately than in the case of plants under ordinary 

 conditions of cultivation. This is because the food of animals is 

 capable of being restricted to what is supplied by man, while in the 

 case of plants nature supplies at least a part and in some cases all 

 of the food. 



The subject of the feeding of plants is an exceedingly interest- 

 ing one, and our knowledge* in regard to it has been enriched by the 

 well known methods of sand and water culture experiments. As a 

 result of numerous experiments which have been carried on by vari- 

 ous scientists in this country and Europe during the last fifty years, 

 the function, or part, in plant economy which certain elementary 

 subjects take is now fairly well established, and the elements needed 

 to enrich an impoverished soil may now be determined with a fair 

 degree of accuracy, and with the proper methods of farming, in- 

 cluding the rotation of crops and use of farm manures, there is no 

 necessity for the use of concentrated or commercial fertilizers. For 

 horticultural purposes, however, where large yields are desired from 

 small areas, or when a special object is sought, as the forcing of a 

 crop in any particular way, then commercial fertilizers are beneficial. 

 In order to make a proper use of them, however, certain general 



