lOO THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



about 10.6 pounds of nitrogen, 3.0 pounds of phosphoric 

 acid and 24.4 pounds of potash, figures somewhat different 

 from those just given. Four hundred baskets of peaches 

 alone will take from the orchard about thirteen pounds of 

 nitrogen, seven of phosphoric acid, eighteen of potash, one 

 of lime, and two of magnesia. 



These figures are enough for our purpose. Those who 

 study this first table in detail will wonder, as I do, at the very- 

 high figures on peach leaves as compared with other leaves, 

 and will note that bearing peach trees take more of the 

 named elements than other fruits (a short life and a merry- 

 one for them) ; quinces come next, and then apple trees, fol- 

 lowed by plums and pears. We have now two sets of data 

 for apple and peach trees in bearing. 



• Phosphoric 



Nitrogen. Acid. Potash. 



Apples, New York Station 51.4 13.7 5.S.1 



Apples, Cornell Station 59.4 16.Q 80.6 



Peaches. New York Station 74.5 18.2 72.3 



Peaches, New Jersey Station 64.1 18.0 39.5 



Noting that peach orchards seem to take rather more ni- 

 trogen and phosphoric acid than apple orchards and that the 

 New Jersey Station figures for peach trees are probably low, 

 as already explained, it is fully accurate enough for any prac- 

 tical purpose to say that either an apple or a peach orchard 

 in full bearing may take from each acre of land every year 

 62 pounds of nitrogen. 17 of phosphoric acid, 70 of potash, 

 and 30 to 40 of lime. 



At once the old unanswerable questions turn up again : 

 How much of these things can the roots get from the soil and 

 get so readily as not to lower the yield of fruit, and how much 

 must be put on every year in fertilizers? Suppose the trees 

 are at present getting all they need ; will it pay in the long run 

 to let them do it or ought we in any case to put back in some 

 shape what we take off? Let us see in the first place what 

 careful, long-continued experiments have shown in dififerent 

 orchards and find out what its teaching is. Take first the ad- 



