FRUIT CULTURE. 



"5 



statement need hardly be dwelt on. It con- 

 tains an obvious truth, and so important to 

 the orchardist, that in a dry season it simply 

 means the difference between failure and 

 success. 



Manuring. — What has been said above 

 about tillage bears closel}- on the matter of 

 manures. On improperly tilled and un- 

 drained lands, a good deal of fertilizing ma- 

 terial already in the ground cannot be used 

 by the roots of the trees, and a considerable 

 portion of any that may be added is practi- 

 cally wasted. Speaking generally, land that 

 is in a sufficiently fertile condition to grow 

 good crops of grain or roots, is in condition, 

 also, to grow fruit trees, or produce fair 

 crops of fruit. The demands of the tree soil 

 are, however, of a different character from 

 those made by the fruit. The elements 

 taken from the soil in the growing of trees, 

 bushes, or vines, are in much the same pro- 

 portion as in the case of many grain and hay 

 crops. Barnyard manure — to the average 

 farmer the cheapest and most convenient 

 form — conveys these elements, nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash, to the soil in a 

 fairly satisfactory ratio, besides supplying 

 the necessary humus. The composition of 

 fruit is distinctly different. In some 

 fruits practically no nitrogen exists, and 

 with all fruit potash is the preponderant 

 element. When fruit trees are bearing there 

 is a diminution in wood growth, and a con- 

 sequent less urgent call for nitrogen ; and 

 an increased demand for potash to supply 

 the loss occasioned by the removal of the 

 fruit. Unleached wood ashes will provide 

 potash in an admirable form, and with it also 

 a valuable proportion of phosphoric acid. 

 It is much to be regretted that so large a 

 quantity of Canadian ashes are annually ex- 

 ported when the orchards of Ontario are so 

 largely in need of this fertilizer. People 

 who imagine that good crops of fruit can be 

 produced without high manuring would be 

 vastly surprised if they knew the facts. 



Prof. Roberts, of Cornell, has very carefully 

 calculated the comparative demands on the 

 soil of wheat and apples. Computations of 

 this kind necessarily cannot be exact, but 

 they are approximately true, and are a valu- 

 able guide to those who wish for light on 

 the subject. 



The plant-food taken per acre during 

 twenty years by average crops of apples, 

 counting also the leaves (but not that taken 

 by the wood), and from one acre of wheat 

 by grain and straw during twenty years, 

 assuming an average yield of fifteen bushels 

 and seven pounds of straw to three pounds 

 grain is given below. 



Apples. I^eaves. Value, 

 lbs. lbs $ c. 



Nitrogen 498.60 456.75 143 30 



Phosphoric acid 38.25 126. 11 50 



Potash 728.55 441- 52 65 



Total value $207 45 



f 128 23 



Prof. Roberts adds : " The above tables 

 show that the orchard requires, if fruitful, 

 plant food equal in value to eighty-seven 

 dollars more than the wheat. No one would 

 think for a moment of trying to raise wheat 

 for twenty consecutive years, even though 

 the soil was fitted in the best possible man- 

 ner yearly." 



One more point regarding the manner of 

 manuring orchards should be emphasized. 

 The practice of piling the manure, or plac- 

 ing ashes around the tree is common, and 

 is based on a ladical misconception of the 

 nature of the root system. Fig. 3 illus- 

 trates the point in question. In many trees, 

 as growth advances, the main root is lost in 

 laterals. From these laterals are developed 

 small fibrous roots, and from these again 

 minute root-hairs which convey food and 



