1SS2.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



55 



l)ranclies, and the erect form of the Lombardy 



pnplar : the weeping willow, with its ever 

 pendant brandies, and the pyramidal form of 

 a siipar maple ; the uncouth weepiiii; ash, 

 and the symmetrical form of the European 

 lareh ; the graceful birch, and the straggling 

 latalpa ; Ihe giant form of the common i)op- 

 lar, and tlie trailing kilmarnock ; and yet all 

 spring from a tender germ, and assume the 

 liirm common to its kind. The juiwer of tlie 

 I ree to reproduce itself is even more forcibly 

 sliown in fruits. Top-graft an apple, and 

 I hough there may be as many varieties as 

 lliere are limbs on the tree, each will produce 

 its color: red, yellow and striped, and in fla- 

 vor its peculiar taste : acid, subacid or sweet, 

 and yet all is supplied from the same root. 

 The floral kingdom has its endless attractions 

 in tlie various forms of its \)lants ; the beau- 

 tiful and harmonious blending of foliage and 

 flowers, ever has its charms for old and young; 

 the nobleman and his servant ; the princely 

 aristocrat and the lowest menial; all jianse to 

 admire the wondrons productions of the vege- 

 table kingdom. 



HORTICULTURAL FERTILIZERS.* 



What are Best and Cheapest and How Ap- 

 plied. 



When your worthy Secretary referred the 

 above subject to me, I presume it was expect- 

 ed that I should be able to suggest with some 

 degree of authority. some special fertilizers es- 

 pecially adapted to our wants as horticultu- 

 rists. If such was the case, I fear I shall dis- 

 appoint him ; for though the theory of a 

 . special fertilizer for each particular crop, is a 

 very plausible and comfortable one — yet in 

 my experience, it is not al all reliable. 



Fast experience witli our teachers of Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry, somewhat verifies the old 

 adage "That a little learning is a dangerous 

 thing," as shown by the amount of money 

 wasted by farmers in following their specious 

 theory of soil-analysis, as a reliable guide for 

 the selection of fertilizers; and their still later 

 teachings that a special fertilizer can be formu- 

 lated upon the chemical analysis of a growing 

 crop or plant ! As tillers of the soil, we are 

 greatly indebted to scientists for he!p in many 

 ways — but there are yet many unrevealed 

 mysteries in the bosom of mother earth, that 

 defy the wisest of our scientists, and, that 

 often mar the practical proof of their fine spun 

 theories. For instance, we may determine 

 very accurately, the amount of nitrogen, 

 potash and phosphate, in the grain and straw 

 of a forty bushel crop of wheat, and with some 

 degree of certainty the apparent amounts of 

 these ingredients in the soil. But we have 

 seen a difl'erence of 15 or 20 bushels of grain 

 and a ton or so of straw, made by an applica- 

 tion of two hundred and fifty pounds of 

 guano per acre — the guano containing only 

 two pounds each of ammonia and phosphate, 

 and distributed through six inches depth of 

 soil — making a quantity so infinitesimally 

 small, compared with the bulk of soil witii 

 which it is mixed, that the nicest of tests 

 would fail to detect it at all. Hence we mwst 

 naturally conclude that there are other agen- 

 cies at work in the soil, that h;lve not entered 

 into the calculation, and that with our pre- 

 sent light cannot be accounted for. Again we 

 might ascertain with rea.sonable certaintv, 

 that an acre of apple trees would take from 

 the soil in its growth of wood and apjiles, a 

 certain number of pounds of potash; yet 

 notliing but a practical trial, after all, will de- 

 termine whether it is necessary to apply potash 

 to each individual orchard. There may be 

 plenty of it in the soil. It may be active or 

 latent. Individual experiments only can solve 

 these questions. While I had charge of the 

 Experimental Farm in Chester county, I made 

 several thousand experiments with fertilizers 

 upon all the crops usually grown upon a farm, 

 including horticultural crops — and in a large 

 majority of cases, the fertilizer richest in 



•Essay read before the Pennsylvania Sta'e Horticultu- 

 ral Association at Harrisburg, by John I. Carter, Chester 

 county, Pa. 



soluble phosphate of lime, gave the best re- 

 sults. And it was also shown that the fertili- 

 zer that did the best for corn, was likely to do 

 best for all other crops, if applied in a manner 

 to suit the especial cases. 



The soil, then, evidently stood in most need 

 of phosphoric acid -and hence the applica- 

 tion of that manurial element really enriched 

 the soil, by establishing a jiroiier balance 

 among the plant-foods — and thus aided all 

 kinds of iilant-growtli. Dill'ereut crops re- 

 quire different modes of application. 



Growing trecH, or small IVuils, should have 

 the mineral fertilizer applied in the spring 

 and |)lowed down, where plowing is possible. 

 It is thus prevented from being washed away; 

 has a good opportunity to he thoroughly dis- 

 solved by the action of the moisture and sol- 

 vents in the soil, and is ready to start a vigo- 

 rous spring growth that will be healthy ; and 

 mature even if it is luxuriant, because it has 

 the whole Season to perfect itself. What we 

 call immature wood-growth, is more frequent- 

 ly the result of a late or unseasaniMe growth, 

 than because it was too luxuriant ! But 

 heavy applications of nitrogenous manures 

 are sometimes dangerous, not so much because 

 of the rapid or .strong growth made, so much 

 as the temporary nature of this kind of ma- 

 nuring; the stimulating supply is exhausted 

 before the plant is perfected. The safest gen- 

 eral recommendation of a fertilizer for 

 orchards and small fruits, would be a well 

 di.ssolved raw bone, or a good acid phosphate, 

 those being likely to meet the wants of a ma- 

 jority of cases. 



In the bone we usually have from 3 to 4 per 

 cent, of ammonia, which might be useful in 

 some cases, as an excitant to early growth. 

 But the acid phosphate, or dissolved South 

 Carolina rock, furnislies the phosphate in a 

 cheaper form than we can find it in a pure 

 bone fertilizer. 



I feel safe in making tlie above recommen- 

 dation because, to a certain extent, it involves 

 the use of the plow, which, in itself, in most 

 cases, is a judicious thing to use. A well 

 cultivated orchard or fruit garden, where the 

 soil is made loose and fine, freely admitting 

 the rays of light and heat, absorbing moisture 

 and ammonia from the atmosphere, the whole 

 strength of the soil going to the trees and 

 shrubs, and not to weeds and other crops — is 

 certainly standing a better chance than one 

 standing in grass, waiting for the very uncer- 

 tain prospect for the few loads of barn-yard 

 manure the farmer may have left from his 

 regular crops. We do not mean to discourage 

 the use of barn-yard manure by any means. 

 It can seldom come amiss, particularly if ap- 

 [ilied in the late fall or early winter. Any 

 covering of vegetable matter, sods or com- 

 posts, that will smother the grass, or shade 

 the ground, will mellow it, and by increasing 

 its absorbing power, be benefited by the air 

 and light. 



Potash would naturally suggest itself as a 

 special tree food, and it would certainly be 

 wise to give it a thorough trial— esi)eciaHy as 

 potash is now not only cheap but easily ob- 

 tained. The muriate of potash showing a per 

 centage of 90 per cent, of the pure salt, can 

 be bought for about $00, or Kainit, the German 

 dung salt, showinur 30 to 40 per cent, potash, 

 can be bought for .f 10. Either of these goods 

 are furnished by the trade, and can readily be 

 got. I think, sometimes, that the value of 

 ashes is often over estimated, particularly 

 when we judge l^y the effects of burned brush 

 heaps: the good results are as often due to 

 heating the earth, as from the deposit of ashes. 

 In summing up all I have to say on this sub- 

 ject, I would give this advice : "Stand not on 

 the order of your manuring, but indnure." 

 You are more likely to err " In the breach, 

 than in the compliance." The farmers' or- 

 chards and fruit gardens, though highly im- 

 portmit adjuncts to the farm, are too often 

 made entirely secondary, when the annual 

 distribution of the manure- pile takes place. 

 We seem to expect from our fruit trees what 

 we could not from any other crop- — a persis- 

 tent yield without adequate manure. An at- 



tempt to raise succe.ssive crops of grain upon 

 the same field without mamire, would be 

 deemed the height of foolishness. Yet we 

 .seem to expect our ajiple tn'es to yield ten 

 times the weight of fruit that our fields do of 

 grain — and do it too, with very infreiiucnt 

 manuring. I regret ray inability to treat this 

 subject in the manner expected, and failing to 

 tell you Ikiw to manure, or with what, must 

 content myself with commending you to put 

 on plenty of aumclhinij. 



Selections. 



THE NEW WHEAT REGION. 



The rapid settlement of the wheat lands of 

 Dakota is perhaps the most striking feature 

 of recent Western dovelopiuent. It is estima- 

 ted that tlie farming population of the Terri- 

 tory has been increased fully 30,000 since 

 the census of 1880 was taken, and the 

 immigration of 1882 promises to be much 

 greater than that of any previous year. A 

 majority of tlie new comers are no doubt at- 

 tracted by the profits of wheat-raising. Mak- 

 ing due allowance for the enthusiasm of new 

 settlers and of the local journals, it appeara 

 from the census returns and from the pulv 

 lislied statements of farmers that a yield of 

 not less than twenty bushels to the acre can 

 be depended on year after year, and that 

 twenty-five bushels is not an extraordinary 

 crop. The cost of breaking new land is said 

 to average SI, 75 anacre, of "backsetting," aa 

 the second or spring plowing is called, SI, 50; 

 of seeding $2,50; of harvesting $2, and of 

 threshing $1; making §8,75 per acre. After 

 the lirst year only one plowing is necessary. 

 Some statements place the cost of the grain 

 thrashed and ready for market at S9 for each 

 acre's yield; others give it as low as S6 — the 

 difference being mainly due, no doubt, to vari- 

 ations in the price of labor. Taking the 

 highest estimate as a basis for calculation, 

 with wheat at .$1 a bushel, the profit of the 

 farmer on each acre of ground cultivated, 

 after all expenses of raising and marketing 

 his crop are paid, cannot well fall below SIO 

 an acre. 



The enterprise of railroad companies eager 

 to occupy a field of future profitable business 

 makes transportation fiicilities in Dakota 

 keep pace with settlement. In the southern 

 part of the Territory the Chicago and North- 

 western and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. 

 Paul Companies have built trunk lines to the 

 Missouri river, which are being pushed on to 

 tne Black Hills, and have constructed numer- 

 ous branches as feeders. The Red River Val- 

 ley is traversed for nearly its entire length 

 by two roads, one on each bank of the 

 stream. Across the northern part of the Ter- 

 ritory, from east to west, runs the Xorthern 

 Pacific Railroad, which is liuilding branches 

 nortli and scnitli to widen the area of wheat 

 culture. Thus in most of the new wheat re- 

 gion the farmer finds a station within a few 

 miles of his fields and a freight train ready to 

 haul his grain to market. 



The work on a wheat farm occupies only a 

 a few weeks of the year, and the business is 

 attractive on that account apart from its 

 profits. After the plowing and sowing are 

 finished the farmer can look on and see Na- 

 ture grow and ripen his crop until the harvest 

 time comes. By the end of August the year' 



