98 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD 



as high grade and low grade. These are sometimes 

 used as substitutes for muriate. Many good grow- 

 ers prefer them in spite of the fact that they cost 

 somewhat more than the muriate. The old-fash- 

 ioned potash supply came from wood ashes. These 

 are still widely advertised for use on fruit trees, and 

 there is a strong popular prejudice in favor of them, 

 wherever they may be obtained. As a matter of 

 fact, they can be secured only in certain places, and 

 never in sufficient quantity for the needs of fruit 

 growers. Moreover, wood ashes vary so greatly in 

 potash content that they are extremely unreliable. 

 As a rule potash costs more a pound in the form 

 of wood ashes than in muriate or sulphate. The use 

 of ashes has, therefore, been largely abandoned by 

 the most careful fruit growers. 



A few words ought to be said in regard to certain 

 other kinds of fertilizers of which one occasionally 

 hears. For instance, lime is often recommended 

 upon fruit plantations, and certainly has its uses. 

 Lime is particularly needed to correct the acidity 

 of certain soils, for when the soil is acid it is inimi- 

 cal to all the physiological processes of growth in 

 the fruit tree. For the purpose of correcting the 

 acidity of the soil, lime may be applied at the rate 

 of half a ton or more to the acre. 



Kainit is a native potash-bearing rock which 

 comes from Germany. It supplies a crude form of 

 potash fertilizer and has been used to some extent 

 because it sells for such a low price by the ton. The 

 amount of real potash in it, however, is so small 

 that the actual cost of plant food is considerably 

 greater than in the more expensive forms of potash 

 fertilizer. It is now never recommended and is 

 not popularly used. 



