APPLES 



317 



Although there is a great similarity in 

 composition in the varieties examined, 

 and none differ much from the average 

 deduced from them all, it is of interest 

 to note that the Fameuse is the richest in 

 organic matter, in ash constituents and 

 iu nitrogen. The Wealthy and Northern 

 Spy contain almost identical amounts of 

 organic matter and ash, and the Duchess 

 of Oldenburg has the largest percentage 

 of organic matter and ash. 



F. T. Shutt. 

 Chemist of the Dominion Experimental Farms. 



Sign of Need 



As to the indications when a bearing 

 orchard needs stimulating, the eminent 

 pomologist. Doctor Warder, once said: 

 "When the growth of the terminal 

 branches fails to make an annual exten- 

 sion of at least one foot in length, the 

 tree should be stimulated by manuring 

 the land and giving it thorough cultiva- 

 tion." 



For ToTiiii? Orchards 



The young orchard will require just 

 enough feeding to keep it growing, and 

 the amount of manurial elements ap- 

 plied should increase in proportion to 

 the size of the trees. It is difficult to 

 give any definite information on this 

 point, for so much depends upon the 

 character of the soil, the method of man- 

 agement, and the character of the crops 

 grown between the trees. For the first 

 year, just after planting, about two 

 ounces of nitrate of soda and two ounces 

 of muriate or sulphate of potash may be 

 scattered around each tree, and a gen- 

 eral application of about 400 pounds of 

 basic slag and 300 pounds of raw ground 

 bone per acre, scattered over the whole 

 area. The following year the basic slag 

 may be omitted and the nitrate of soda 

 and sulphate of potash doubled. The 

 third and subsequent years, if a cover- 

 crop is turned under and the trees are 

 making satisfactory growth, the nitrate of 

 soda may be omitted and a general ap- 

 plication given consisting of 200 pounds 

 of sulphate of potash and 300 pounds of 

 raw ground bone, to the acre. If at any 

 time the cover crop should fail, an appli- 

 cation of about 100 pounds to the acre of 



nitrate of soda may need to be applied. 

 It is believed that in the past too much 

 attention has been given to the use of ni- 

 trogenous fertilizers for young trees, and 

 that if more attention is given to the 

 mineral elements the trees are likely to 

 commence bearing earlier. The use of 

 lime has also become necessary on many 

 soils, and for this reason an occasional 

 application of basic slag, which contains 

 a large proportion of lime, may be sub- 

 stituted for the raw ground bone. 



While these suggestions and recom- 

 mendations concerning fertilization may 

 prove valuable for certain soils and con- 

 ditions, there are undoubtedly many spe- 

 cial cases where such advice would be of 

 no value and may be entirely misleading. 

 On many soils heavy applications of any 

 one element of plant food may be un- 

 necessary. A soil that fails to respond 

 to the application of any particular kind 

 of plant food, is probably well supplied 

 with that element. For these reasons, 

 each grower should determine by experi- 

 ment the peculiar fertilizer requirements 

 of his soil. * 



Feedinia: the Apple Tree 



Of all the intricate problems relating to 

 orchard management, that of feeding the 

 apple tree is probably the most perplex- 

 ing. To a large proportion of the New 

 England farmers this problem has never 

 presented itself, for they have assumed 

 that the orchard did not require fertiliza- 

 tion. The specialized apple growers are 

 just coming to realize the peculiar fertil- 

 izer requirements of the apple and the 

 importance of ascertaining the fertilizer 

 requirements of their various orchard 

 lands. 



Elements >'eeded 



In general, plants require three ele- 

 ments of plant food, and the apple tree is 

 no exception. These elements are nitro- 

 gen, potash, and phosphoric acid. While 

 not usually considered a necessary ele- 

 ment of plant food, which must be sup- 

 plied, lime is of much benefit to most 

 crops and its value should be considered 

 when buying fertilizers. If these ele- 



* Or send sample of soil to state chemist 

 for analysis. — E<3. 



