Potash for Fruits. "215 



the trees have reached bearing age. The store of 

 available potash in the soil is much increased by 

 the thorough tillage which has already been recom- 

 mended, but in bearing orchards it should also be 

 supplied every year in some commercial form. One 

 of the best sources of potash for orchards is wood 

 ashes, but this material is so often weakened by 

 leaching that it cannot be confidently recommended. 

 A good sample of unleached hard wood ashes 

 should contain from 5 to 9 per cent of potash, 

 but some of the commercial article does not analyze 

 above 2 to 3 per cent. Potash in this form has 

 a trade value of 4% cents per pound. To this 

 value of wood ashes should also be added 2 per 

 cent or less of phosphoric acid, now worth 6 cents 

 a pound. Forty to fifty bushels to the acre is 

 considered to be a good dressing of wood ashes, 

 if it has been kept dry. 



Muriate of potash is perhaps the best and most 

 reliable form in which to secure potash at the 

 present time for fruits. Commercial samples gener- 

 ally contain from 80 to 85 per cent of muriate of 

 potash, or about 50 per cent of actual potash. 

 Kainit is an impure muriate of potash, containing 

 about 12 to 15 per cent of potash. An apple or- 

 chard in full bearing and upon loose soil may 

 receive as high as one thousand pounds of muriate 

 of potash per acre, but a normal and economical 

 application is from one hundred and fifty to three 

 hundred pounds, if applied every year. Sulfate of 

 potash is also thought to be a good form in which 



