18 THE USE OF STABLE MANURE, 



CHAPTER VI. 



MANURING, PRUNING AND CARING FOR THE 

 APPLE ORCHARD. 



STABLE MANURE — HOW TO USE IT — FERTILIZERS AND THEIR AP- 

 PLICATION — MULCHING — PRUNING IMPLEMENTS FOR PRUNING. 



Stable manure is always good for fruit trees in limited quan- 

 tities, but it may be used so as to cause harm instead of good. It 

 should be applied sparingly to young trees, unless the soil is very 

 poor or an exhausting crop is to be taken from the land, that will 

 feed largely upon the elements that tend to produce a coarse, 

 woody growth, i. e., the nitrogenous elements. The best time to 

 apply stable manure is in the fall — on land that will not wash 

 badly — or very early in the spring. If applied in the summer, 

 it causes a late growth that is very liable to injury and disease. 



When the trees reach maturity, and are bearing exhausting 

 croi)s of fruit, manure may be used more liberally, especially in 

 the sjjring of the bearing year, for many trees are almost ruined 

 by their ctt'ort to produce a very large crop of fruit, particularly 

 shouhl tlic season prove dry. Such trees are in the condition of 

 the over-loaded and ill-fed horse, or the poor, over-worked laborer ; 

 they are all alike liable to the attack of contagious diseases. 

 Trees that have been injured by over-bearing may be improved 

 very much by the application of nitrogenous manure the non- 

 fruiting year. The effect is to cause a large development of wood 

 at the i'X])cns(' of the fruit buds. This illustrates a law that we 

 find tliroughout all life, both plant and animal: That causes 

 wliidi iiurease the vigor of the stock or body, decrease the re- 

 productive forces ; while a decrease of vigor in the body or stock, 

 gives activity to the powers of reproduction. Herein is a wise pro- 

 vision of nature for the pei"petuatiou of species; for when the 

 body or stock is vigorous, there is no necessity for immediate 

 provision for tlie future ; but when the body becomes weak, na- 

 ture makes an unusual (effort to perpetuate the species by an 

 increase of the I'eproductive powers. 



Fertilizers. — One of the greatest difficulties the fruit grower 

 meets in his business is that of obtaining the necessary amount of 

 plant food to produce satisfactory results. This problem is be- 



