STATE POMOLOGICAIv SOCIETY. 53 



they do, it is simply that in Mr. Dawes' orchard the soil is in a 

 fine physical condition, there is a lot of humus in it, lots of 

 decaying vegetable matter, all the soil needs in order to give 

 maximum results, and therefore the applying of stable manure, 

 which is of marked advantage mostly because of the efifect which 

 it has on the mechanical condition of the soil rather than because 

 of the absolute amount of plant food which it adds to the soil, 

 was not needed in Mr. Dawes' case. In Mr. DeCoster"s case, 

 I fancy that the soil may not have been in as good physical con- 

 dition, and that it needed the ameliorating effect of that decaying 

 vegetable matter, and when he applied it, making the soil lighter 

 thereby, more congenial to the plant or trees growing there, 

 holding moisture better and all the other effects which come 

 from adding humus to the soil — then he got just the results 

 which occurred. Mr. Dawes did not get them because his soil 

 did not need the ameliorating effect due to the applying of the 

 stable manure. 



The lesson of hogs in the orchard is a similar one. The 

 New Jersey apple grower referred to, had relatively too many 

 hogs in his orchard and they made the soil so rich that the trees 

 made an excessive wood growth and consequently developed no 

 fruit-buds. It was a case of "too much hog;" a smaller number 

 might have been all right. 



Now the fundamental fact underlying this whole question of 

 fertilizing the orchard is simply this: To know just what to 

 apply to your orchard to fertilize it in the most intelligent and 

 the most economical way, you have got to know what your soil 

 requires. If you don't, you will do just as Mr. Dawes is prob- 

 ably doing, apply some kind of plant food which is not required 

 by your soil, and hence be throwing away your money by so 

 doing. I want, however, to make this possible exception in 

 regard to the experience of Mr. Dawes. As I have said, on the 

 surface of things that experience indicates that his soil does not 

 need sulphate of potash. Your plants or your trees must have 

 all the plant food they need in what might be called a balanced 

 ratio. That is, as you all well know, all plant growth requires 

 nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. If there is an abundance 

 of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, well and good. But 

 if there is a lack of any one, then your trees or other plants will 



