178 CARE AND SKILL IN THE ORCHARD 



The pear orchard should be cultivated every year, be- 

 cause it is unsafe to apply the large amount of stable 

 manure to pear trees when in grass that is needed to keep 

 them thrifty. We can keep an apple orchard in grass and 

 top dress it heavily enough to offset this drain on the 

 soil. 



In liming the soil of an apple orchard it should be ap- 

 plied at the rate of about one ton per acre at one time, 

 which need not be repeated oftener than once in three or 

 four years. It should be definitely known that the soil 

 needs liming before taking any steps to do it. No great 

 quantity should be put near the trees but the whole of the 

 soil evenly supplied, which would give a very small por- 

 tion about each newly set tree. 



Hardwood ashes are good for trees of all kinds but 

 they contain no nitrogen and in case they are applied, 

 something that contains this element should be added. 

 Nitrate of soda contains it but some kind of coarse 

 manure is better, because there is humus, which loosens 

 the soil as well as furnishes nitrogen. If a mixed fer- 

 tilizer is used it should be made of about 500 pounds acid 

 phosphate rock, 200 pounds muriate of potash and 100 

 pounds nitrate of soda for each acre. It may be applied 

 with benefit at any time of year, but about April or May 

 it will be quickly available and be taken up by the tree 

 roots during the growing season. 



