214 POMOLOGY 



The above experiment with bearing peach trees was con- 

 ducted for four years. The soil in question was a shale loam 

 and "low in fertihty," and each plot contained twenty trees 

 of Carman and Waddell varieties. As a result of the treat- 

 ments with nitrate of soda, the annual growth of the trees 

 was double that of the untreated ones. The yield was nearly 

 doubled also by the use of nitrogen but it delayed maturity 

 by several days, which in some cases was advantageous from 

 a commercial standpoint. Neither the element phosphorus 

 nor potassium produced any beneficial effects and some in- 

 jurious consequences followed the use of the latter. 



The influence of lime could not be definitely determined 

 and was regarded as largely negative, although the produc- 

 tion was somewhat increased. 



The trees which did not receive nitrogen produced fruit 

 of higher color, but the cause was attributed to the extra 

 sunshine which reached the fruit, owing to the sparse and 

 sickly foilage. 



It is commonly stated that a limestone soil is markedly 

 better than a non-calcareous one, but this statement is 

 open to question, depending on what shall be considered 

 such a soil and what is to be grown. Fruit-trees use lime in 

 considerable quantities and would not thrive if the supply 

 of carbonate of lime in the soil was veiy low, any more than 

 other plants. However, as indicated before, it is not neces- 

 sary to have a so-called limestone soil for the production of 

 any of the common fruits. It is claimed that the "stone" 

 fruits require more lime than the pome-fruit, although data 

 are lacking to establish this statement. Lewis ^ reports 

 that his work with lime on stone-fruits has given no benefits 

 to the trees. On the other hand, lime seems to have been of 

 some benefit to peach trees in the "Eastern Pan-handle" of 

 West Virginia but no effect was noticed on the fruit itself. 

 1 Ore. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 166. 1920. 



