320 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



varieties; the character of the soil; the 

 cultural system employed; the kind of 

 cover crop; the kind of filler used; the 

 nature and amount of other crops grown 

 in the orchard; the availability of fer- 

 tilizing materials; the severity of prun- 

 ing; the size of the expected crop; and, 

 to some extent, the character of the sea- 

 son. The formula mentioned below 

 should be taken as a suggestion only, 

 and should be modified to suit special 

 conditions. 



For mature apple trees on soil that is 

 apparently in need of a complete fer- 

 tilizer the following formula is suggested: 



Nitrate of soda (15 per cent or its 

 equivalent) 200 pounds. 



Muriate or sulphate of potash (50 per 

 cent potash or its equivalent) 250 pounds. 



Raw ground bone (20 per cent phos- 

 phoric acid and 3 per cent nitrogen or its 

 equivalent) 400 pounds. 



These amounts are intended for the 

 annual treatment of one acre of orchard 

 land. 



Soil Analysis 



The soil constituting the proposed or- 

 chard site should be carefully studied. 

 and if found to be lacking in the essential 

 elements of fertility necessary to main- 

 tain a fairly vigorous wood growth, fer- 

 tilizers should be added before plowing, 

 that they may become thoroughly incor- 

 porated with the soil in preparing the 

 land for planting. 



Scientists and practical orchardists 

 are generally agreed on the gi'eat value 

 of well-rotted barnyard manui-e for an 

 apple orchard. It not only supplies hu- 

 mus, but it contains a large per cent of 

 other necessary nutritive elements tor 

 maintaining health, vigor, and fruitful- 

 ness of trees and for the development of 

 the proper qualities for a fine fruit prod- 

 uct. But as the stock of this sort of 

 manure Is not always sufficient for the 

 general demand, other agents have to be 

 resorted to; and next in value and in a 

 concentrated form are unleached wood 

 ashes, which will supply, to a great ex- 

 tent, the elements necessary to plant 

 growth. It is maintained by some au- 

 thorities that one ton of unleached wood 

 ashes contains as much plant nutriment 



as five tons of ordinary barnyard man- 

 ure; therefore, whenever obtainable, 

 ashes should be used in preference to 

 any other fertilizer. 



G. B. Brackett, 

 Washineton, D. C. 



Stable Manure 



Stable manure is the standard fertilizer 

 of the diversified farmer and the stock 

 raiser. The commercial fruit growers, 

 however, rarely use this form of fertilizer 

 in their orchards. The chief objection 

 to its use is that it is relatively rich in 

 nitrogen, which becomes available late in 

 the season. The liberation of nitrogen 

 late in the season is likely to keep up 

 growth so late that the trees will not 

 ripen their wood properly before the ar- 

 rival of cold weather. Stable manure is 

 a complete fertilizer and, when applied 

 to the soil, supplies in addition to the 

 three elements of plant food, a large 

 amount of vegetable matter. For this 

 reason it is well suited to the enriching 

 of vegetable gardens and corn fields. 

 C. D. Jarvis, 

 Storrs. Conn. 



PICKIIVG .VPPLES 



There are two important questions on 

 picking apples. One is. when to pick, and 

 the other is, how to pick. When to pick 

 depends largely upon the time of ripen- 

 ing and whether the apples are to be used 

 for the local market or shipped to a dis- 

 tant market. If they are to be used for 

 the local market, they may be left on the 

 trees longer than if they are to be shipped 

 a considerable distance, and in remaining 

 longer on the trees will become more 

 highly colored, more fully ripened and 

 more highly flavored. A general rule Is 

 that the apple is ready to pick when the 

 seed is brown. At this time the apple, 

 according to this theory, is supposed to 

 have reached its full growth and develop- 

 ment, and after that the changes which 

 occur in the direction of the ripening or 

 the breaking down process will go on as 

 well off as on the tree. Some orchard- 

 ists, however, depend more on the color 

 of the fruit than on anything else. An 

 expert can walk through an orchard and 

 tell when looking at the trees, without 



