r84 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



AugfllSt, 1910 



Apple Tree 



No fertilizer. 



avoid sprinkling it on the leaves, as 

 burning may result. 



Phosphoric acid aids particularly in 

 the formation of the fruit, and, it is 

 thought, tends to produce earliness also. 

 If phosphoric acid is deficient in the soil, 

 any fruit or grain crop will invariably 

 be found to be poor and light. For the 

 market gardener looking for rapid re- 

 turns a soluble form of phosphoric acid, 

 as superphosphate, is the best to apply, 

 at the rate of about 200 lbs. an acre, 

 harrowed in about two weeks belore 

 seeding. For the fruit-grower, where 

 growth is continuous and the results 

 looked for not immediate, a cheaper and 

 less soluble form may be applied, as 

 ground bone, or basic slag, at the rate 

 of about 500-600 lbs. an acre. Cultiva- 

 tion will then tend to slowly bring it into 

 solution. 



POTASH AIDS FRUIT PRODUCTION 



Potash, though less apt to be deficient 

 in a .soil than either nitrogen or phos- 

 phoric acid, plays a more important part 

 in plant growth. It aids in the forma- 

 tion of sugar and starch particularly, and 

 thus in the production of fruit. It is 

 also important in the building up of new 

 tissues and wood. By some it is claimed 

 to have some influence in the coloring 

 of fruits, but this is doubtful . However, 

 it has been shown conclusively that heavy 

 applications of wood ashes have given 

 excellent returns in the orchard and are 

 one of the best forms in which to apply 

 potash to the soil. The commercial form 

 is muriate of potash, which is usually 

 applied at the rate of about 200 lbs. an 

 acre before seeding, and harrowed in. 



It must be remembered that maximum 



crops can iu\ei be raiseil unless the three 

 fertilizing substances, nitrygen, phcs- 

 phoric acid and potash, are all present 

 in sufficient quantities for healthy and 

 normal plant growth. If any one of 

 the.se be wanting, growth is checked. 

 Therefore, to land which is poor and 

 unproductive, the application of all three 

 will usually give good returns, no matter 

 whether the crop be grown for leaf or 

 fruit. But if the land is rich and pro- 

 ductive then production can be pushed 

 to its maximum limit, by applying the 

 one which the particular crop grown 

 stands most in need of, and the fore- 

 going suggestions have been offered as 

 a guide. 



DEMANDS ON SOIL DIFFERENT 



In the fertilizing of orchards it must 

 be remembered, also, that the relation 

 of fruit growing to soil exhaustion is very 

 different from that in general crop farm- 

 ing, because in the orchard there is an 

 annual demand for specific kinds and 

 definite proportions of plant food. It is 

 really a continuous cropping of the same 

 kind, and there is no opportunity, as in 

 the case of ordinary farm crops, to cor- 

 rect the tendency to exhaustion by a fre- 

 quent change of crops, or the 'frequent 

 growth of those which require different 

 kinds and amounts to plant constituents. 

 By the sale of fruit, large quantities of 

 potash and phosphoric acid are annually 

 being sold off the orchard, and in most 

 cases no return of these constituents is 

 made to the soil. 



In the matter of berries, which are 

 crops especially well adapted to light 

 soils, soils, however, which are not 

 naturally supplied with sufficient amounts 



Apple Tree 



Complete Fertilizer: Potash, Phosphoric Acid. 

 Nitrogen. 



of the essential pi, ml < i.iiNliUients, 

 proper fertilizing becomes even more 

 important than for the tree fruits, which 

 are usually grown on heavier land richer 

 in plant food. They are, as a rule, crops 

 which require a shorter preparatory 

 season, and have a shorter period of 

 bearing life, and therefore the more 

 quickly available materials should be 

 applied, as ■titrate of soda, or drieW 

 blood, superphf)sphate and muriate of 

 potash. 



In the case of vegetables, the soil must 

 always be kept up to its highest produc- 

 tive capacity by the liberal use of farm- 

 yard manure, supplemented with fer- 

 tilizers. With the high cost of labor, 

 clearly the most profitable results should 

 be obtained by placing the soil in the 

 best possible condition to rai.se large 

 amounts from small areas. A small 

 market-garden, well cultivated and 

 liberally manured, here, as in Europe, 

 should yield better returns than a larger 

 acreage carelessly handled through lack 

 of help. 



Cover Crops in the Orchard. 



Grant S. Peart, Barlbgtoa, Oat. 



Sowing cover crops in orchards, where 

 clean cultivation is practised, is one of 

 the essentials of successful fruit grow- 

 ing. Not the apple orchard alone is 

 benefited by it, but all the tree fruits, 

 including the vineyard. We have prac- 

 tised growing different sorts of cover 

 crops in orchards with excellent results. 

 Our experience indicates that leguminous 

 crops are preferable, especially where 

 growth of wood is required ; in other 

 words, where soils are poor in nitrogen. 

 The field pea is admirably adapted for 

 this purpose. It possesses the power of 

 growing quickly, thus producing a rank 

 growth, and is not confined to any par- 

 ticular climatic change. 



The hairy vetch and crimson clover 

 may be used with satisfactory results 

 also, but the vetch is difficult to eradicate. 

 The crimson clover is grown with suc- 

 cess in Southern Ontario, but is confined 

 to that district. Red and alsike clover 

 do not make sufficient growth. When 

 cereals are sown, rje and winter wheat 

 are better qualified than barley or oats 

 as cover crops, on account of their hardi- 

 ness. 



DATE OF SOWING 



The time of sowing and quantity of 

 seed required depends on the crop. A 

 heavy seeding should be applied. Two 

 bushels per acre of cereals and peas or 

 twenty pounds of crimson clover seed 

 is an accurate estimate. It is well to 

 harrow and roll the land after sowing the 

 clover. The crimson clover should be 

 sown during the latter part of July ; oats, 

 peas, and wheat the last week of August ; 

 and rye the first week of September. 



All orchards with cover crops should 

 be ploughed early in the spring. It will 



