10 



Liming Fruit Trees. 



It is highly important to consider the effect of lime upon the 

 different kinds of fruits. Apple trees will thrive fairly well even 

 on quite acid soils without liming, yet lime may help their 

 growth to a slight extent If, however, some cover crop which 

 is very dependent upon lime is to be grown in the orchard, 

 liming may be advisable. Great caution should be exercised 

 in liming peach trees. If lime is used at all, it should be ap- 

 plied in small quantities and at not too frequent intervals. 

 Plums, cherries, and quinces, on the contrary, all need lime 

 on acid soils. In fact, in many cases financial success with a 

 plum or cherry orchard, and also with quinces, may hinge 

 upon whether the land is properly limed at the outset and at 

 occasional intervals thereafter. 



In this connection I am reminded of a visit' which I re 

 ceived some years ago at the Rhode Island Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station from Mr. J. W. Powell, the well-known horti- 

 culturist of New York. He told me about his plum or cherry 

 orchard in which the trees were not growing properly. I 

 thereupon showed him an experiment, which I was then con- 

 ducting on acid soil, which showed the wonderful effect of 

 lime upon the growth of these trees. Many years elapsed 

 before I met Mr. Powell again, but when I did he wrung my 

 hand in grateful fashion and told me that my suggestion about 

 liming his orchard resulted in its salvation. 



Fertilizing Small Fruits. 



In fertilizing strawberries, great care must be taken to use a 

 sufficient amount of nitrogen to insure strong, vigorous vines. 

 A fair amount of phosphoric acid in available form should be 

 used, and the fertilizer should usually contain a moderately high 

 percentage of potash This is for the reason that the straw- 

 berry has a shallow root system and requires a large amount 

 of potash in the formation of the fruit. Many years ago I 

 made a number of analyses of strawberries, and, if my memory 

 serves me correctly, nearly half of the ash of the fruit con- 

 sisted of potash. 



If strawberries are overfertilized with nitrogen, the tendency 



