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orchard wants, but a man should know reasonably Mell what 

 would prove an ideal fertilizer for orchards, else he ought 

 to use a balanced fertilizer and cut out the basic slag. 



A MEMBER: I would like to ask what the speaker 

 ihinks of Summer pruning in regard to making an orchard 

 bear annually. 



MR. CONANT : I will say that in IMaine we have never 

 practised, to any extent, Summer pruning. I doubt if there 

 is one in a himdred of the orchardists in the State of Maine 

 that carry on any system of pruning in June, so that there 

 IS no definite information that I have to bring in regard to 

 Summer pruning, June pruning. 



A MEMBER: I would like to ask Mr. Conant if he had 

 hen manure, Avhether he wouldn't use it as a source of nitro- 

 gen on the orchard? 



MR. CONANT: Never in commercial orcharding. If 

 I were growing any other crop, I would grow something elsri 

 with the hen manure, I never would put it under an apple 

 tree, but if a man had only a few trees in the garden and 

 wanted to fertilize them a little, a very, very slight applica- 

 tion might not do any harm, but there is so much ammonia 

 in hen dressing that I have seen some very bad results from 

 applying it under trees, and I never saw any good results. 



A ]\IEMBER : How would hard wood ashes do ? 



MR. CONANT . Well, I think in our State we are think- 

 ing more of hard wood ashes than ever before because they 

 contain some potash that w^e do not have to go to Germany 

 after, and in that case T think we would be justified in using 

 some wood ashes this year in the orchard. It is a question 

 with a great many ; again you are up against the same prop- 

 osition as in basic slag, only you have phosphoric acid and 

 lime in your slag and you have a little potash and lime in 

 your ashes. If your orchard is real acid and you feel it needs 

 lime, wood ashes are a good fertilizer for one or two years, 

 but if your orchards do not need lime, I question Avhether it 

 is policy to buy ashes and pay any great price for them as 



