174 GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO FRUIT 



and to prevent them getting too much height or develop- 

 ing abnormal growths. 



In many cases it will be found that the old trees have 

 exhausted practically all the available nutritive material 

 contained in the soil, and they need considerable nitrogen 

 in order to produce new wood and to put new vigor into 

 them, and therefore they will stand lots of stable manure. 

 But if they were young, bearing trees in their prime they 

 would need only a light dressing of manure. 



While the actual fertilizing material contained in a ton 

 of average stable manure is small, not much above 

 twenty-eight pounds, if lime is not considered, it is a 

 great humus producer. Humus adds lots of moisture, 

 and humus and moisture working together release the 

 nutritive material already in the soil and put it in shape 

 so that those little hungry feed roots can gather it in and 

 send it on its mission of supplying leaf, bud and branch 

 with life and vigor. 



If one should want quicker and better results than just 

 stable manure alone will give, phosphate rock, ground 

 bone and potash may be added in the proportion of ioo 

 pounds of phosphate, 200 pounds of ground bone and 100 

 pounds of potash, but the user will have to be the judge 

 of just how much to apply to the acre, as there are so 

 many different conditions to be taken into consideration 

 that the same quantity will not answer for all. 



As cultivation is needed anyway, it is well to raise 

 vegetables in the orchard, thus making the land pay a 

 good acreage profit even if the fruit has a bad season. 

 Weeds are to be kept out of an orchard as zealously as 

 out of a garden. It is also important that we practice a 

 good system of shallow cultivation in young orchards. 

 The trees respond to good tillage just as the corn and 

 other cultivated crops do. Barn-yard manure, cowpeas 

 and clover are three great fall cover crops for a young 

 orchard. Trees ought to stand about thirty feet apart. 



