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small head and long- neck and shook his head dubiously and 

 said, "There ain't no such animal." 



Now there are people who may be inclined to think 

 that the matter of fertilizers for orchards is a matter of very 

 t-ubordinate importance, and there is something to be said, 

 perhaps a great deal to be said, on that side of the question. 

 Those of you who have read the publications of some of our 

 stations, notably the New York Geneva Experiment Station, 

 the Pennsylvania Experiment Station, the New Hampshire 

 Experiment Station, may have come to the conclusion that 

 many soils contain apparently enough plant food to make 

 fertilizers unnecessary in the growing of apples. At least 

 in the fertilizer experiments which have been carried out in 

 the past and in other states, fertilizers now and then have 

 failed to shoAv any increase as to crop yields or any serious 

 Diodifications in the quality of the fruit. ]\Iaking that aL- 

 Jowance for the failure of fertilizers to show results now and 

 then, it remains true nevertheless that the fertilization of 

 orchards is a question which is deserving of consideration 

 and is in every Ayay a practical question. This morning T 

 looked through, with a great deal of pleasure, the collection 

 t-f books ujistairs. and to refresh my memory I turned over 

 tlio pages of some of the older publications on fruit growing. 



Now I should like to quote to you very briefly one or 

 1wo authors who had thought of the fertilization of orchards 

 iOO years ago or 60 or 70 years ago. You will find upstairs 

 a copy of a book called "The American Orchardist." by Dr. 

 "^hatcher published in 1822. In it you will find this: "It 

 lias been ascertained by experience and observation that 

 apples, pears, peaches, etc., attain to their highest perfection 

 only when the soil about the roots is kept open and frequent- 

 ly manured." He says further, "The process of Nature is 

 greatly assisted by such substances as cause the greatest 

 degree of fermentation when buried in the earth," and 

 recommends materials that Avere available in those days, the 

 use of bodies of dead animals, hair, wool waste, horns, hoofs, 

 Avoolen rags and things of that sort that are waste products 



