ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 4i 



account of the lack of moisture in our orchards, and we suffer 

 from that lack of moisture more times than we think rather 

 than from the lack of plant food. Xo matter how much plant 

 food is present, the plants cannot make use of it unless there 

 is plenty of moisture in the soil. I have no doubt you might 

 send a chemist to examine your soils and that you might find a 

 lack of as much phosphoric acid, or a lack of as much potash 

 as you will find in some of your arable soils, but it will not do 

 to condemn that soil : the trouble is, the conditions that are 

 needed for the liberation of plant food for the growth of plants 

 do not exist in that soil. So it is in many soils. We have there 

 the plant food, but not the conditions necessary for plant 

 growth except possibly moisture and possibly some of this vege- 

 table matter. And, as a matter of fact, it is only through the 

 introduction of some of the influences of culture that I shall 

 mention, that the soil becomes productive. It may be rich in 

 plant food and still be non-productive. 



The soil may be in such a condition that these myriads of 

 bacteria cannot live and work to the best of advantage under such 

 conditions, and the soil, therefore, may be non-productive. 

 There is a close inter-relationship existing between all the forms 

 of life. 



Now I want to say further, that besides furnishing the acids 

 and thus contributing to the plant food, the vegetable matter in 

 our soil has several other very important functions to perform 

 in our orchards, and one of the most important which arise 

 is in the matter of furnishing organic nitrogen. 



Through the breaking down of the soil there is given off 

 organic nitrogen which can be used for the plants. And right 

 here I want to leave with you one suggestion, and that is. 

 though the fruit grower is ignorant and often buys nitro- 

 gen, a kind Providence has provided all the nitrogen that is 

 needed for the growth of all our important orchard fruits. I 

 will develop that just a little later. And I would say one other 

 thing about vegetable matter. One of the most important 

 functions of vegetable matter in the soil is to increase the water- 

 holding capacity of the soil itself. Soil filled with vegetable 

 matter is like a sponge. It takes the water in slowly and it 

 holds that which it gets. If the soil is hard, it can hold but 

 little moisture, and it soon loses that which runs into it, so 



