four times as much as required by grapes. It is evident ^°°^ ^°^ 

 that a few crops of plums or apricots will materially reduce ^° ^ 

 the amount of Nitrogen in the soil, which is usually deficient 33 

 to start with and therefore this element of plant food must 

 be replenished or the fruit will soon deteriorate in size. 



"Time to apply should be when fruit is half groiun, and cultivate in to get 

 the Nitrate mixed with the moist soil." 



Unless it is known that there is sufficient ^ .... 



, , . . , . 1 • 1 -1 Quantities 



phosphoric acid and potash in the sous, -r. • j j 



^ ^ r -, ,^ , ^ -r Required and 



superphosphate or bone meal, and it q,. + a 1 



necessary to furnish sulphate of potash, 



wood ashes, apply early in the winter or early spring. 



Two or three pounds of bone dust and one pound sulphate 



of potash or ten pounds unleached wood ashes per tree 



would be about the right quantities. The Nitrate of Soda 



should be applied after the fruit is set at the rate of two to 



three pounds per tree. It is important that the fertilizers 



should be well mixed with the soil, and that they be applied 



not close to the trunks of the trees, but considerably further 



out than the branches reach. 



After investigating the requirements of Figs. 



the fig, Professor George E. Colby, of the 



University of California Experiment Station, says: 



"The Fig leads among our fruits in its demand upon the soil for Nitrogen. 

 Thus we find for the southern localities especially, the same necessity of early 

 replacement of Nitrogen in figs and stone fruit as for Orange orchards, and 

 partly for the same reason, viz., that California soils are usually not rich in 

 their natural supply of this substance." 



Nitrate of Soda will furnish the necessary Nitrogen in 

 its most available form, and at less cost than any other 

 material. It will probably be best to use in addition to the 

 Nitrate an equal quantity of bone meal phosphate, say two 

 pounds of each per tree, applied as recommended for plums 

 and apricots. 



Profitable Onion Cultivation. 



There is no crop that can be grown so Adaptability of 

 successfully on a large scale, on such a the Onion to 

 variety of soil and climate, and that will all Soils, 

 respond more profitably to intelligent cultivation and fer- 



