56 BEGINNERS' GUIDE TO FRUIT GROWING 



thin, or have suffered from extremes of weather, it 

 is very frequently helpful to make a light applica- 

 tion of nitrate of potash, provided this material is 

 in the market at a price at which it can be obtained 

 for fertilizing purposes. For such work the so- 

 called crude saltpeter, imported from Calcutta, is 

 the best. It generally tests about 94% pure and 

 carries the equivalent of about 14% ammonia, and 

 44 to 45% of actual potash. Even so light an appli- 

 cation of this material as one pound to every five or 

 six trees frequently results in enormous benefit. 



If we put this in the form of a general recipe, sub- 

 ject to the important qualifications already men- 

 tioned, we may say that the annual application re- 

 quired by an acre of bearing peach orchard 

 would be : 



Nitrate of soda, 50-100 pounds 



Basic slag meal, 500-800 pounds 



High-grade sulphate of potash, 200-400 pounds 



In dealing with pears it is always to be remem- 

 bered that special care is required in the use of 

 nitrogen. This element must be given in relatively 

 small quantities to avoid the production of a soft 

 rapid growth of wood. As a somewhat rough esti- 

 mate of average needs, we may propose the follow- 

 ing formula for pears : 



Basic slag meal, 500-800 pounds 



High-grade sulphate of potash, 300-500 pounds 



To this there may be added small quantities of 

 nitrogenous fertilizers, such as dried blood, when- 

 ever the foliage shows yellow and the trees are 

 clearly not making sufficient growth. 



In dealing with plums we have several very differ- 

 ent species of fruits, which should be separated into 



