According to the investigations of Professor Barth-Colmar Food for 

 and Dr. Steglich, Dresden, the wood, foliage and fruit of Plants 

 apple, pear, cherry and bush fruits consume yearly per square I ^ 7 

 yard of surface shaded by the tree or bush, 219 grains of 

 Nitrogen, 65 grains of phosphoric acid, and 284 grains of 

 actual potash; equivalent to fertilizer chemicals as follows: 



Nitrate of Soda, per square yard 3.5 ounces 



Acid Phosphate, per square yard 1.5 " 



Muriate Potash, per square yard 1.5 



Except on high-priced land, garden 



crops should not be grown in orchards, but Amount of Ra- 

 where this custom is followed the quantity tion ^ ^ lant 

 of plant food should be increased to suit the od for One 

 needs of the additional crop to be grown. lree - 

 For fruit alone apply between the fall of the leaf and the 

 bursting of the buds, per square yard of surface shaded by the 

 tree, the quantities of plant food shown above to be the actual 

 needs of the crop. If the trees have made a weak growth 

 the previous season, or have heavily fruited, apply between 

 May and July about one ounce of Nitrate of Soda per square 

 yard of surface; this in addition to the previously applied 

 plant food. 



The practical effect of artificial manures for fruit cannot 

 be denied, not only for quantity, but also for the quality of 

 the crop. Stable manures seem to fail of regular bountiful 

 results, probably because the stable manure supplies its am- 

 monia in the Nitrated^ form very irregularly, and fruit trees 

 can use ammonia plant food only in the Nitrated form. 

 Practical figures showing the profitableness of artificial 

 manures, fertilizers, have been shown by many experiments, 

 particularly by those conducted at Feldbrunnen, near Oste- 

 rode, Germany. 



The rational fertilization of fruit trees depends some- 

 what upon their period of growth; young trees need ample 

 supplies of Nitrated ammonia and potash to develop and 

 ripen new wood. Later, at the bearing age, phosphoric acid 

 and Nitrated ammonia are required for the formation of 

 fruiting buds. These two phases in the making of an orchard 

 should have due consideration and plant food used accord- 

 ingly. 



