Fertilizers and Shade* crops 186 



crop, however, is rarely as good as the first and is very 

 often produced at a loss. To one who is familiar with 

 farming methods as practiced in the East, it would seem 

 to be a simple matter to bring up the yield of the second 

 crop by an application of commercial fertilizers. Ac- 

 cordingly, a series of acre plots was laid off in a potato 

 field to which commercial fertilizers were applied. High- 

 grade nitrate of soda, sulfate of potash, and phosphoric 

 acid in the form of dissolved bone meal were applied 

 separately and in various combinations. These experi- 

 ments were carried through four years, and at the end of 

 that time it could not be shown that the fertilizers had 

 in any case produced an increased yield over the unfer- 

 tilized plots. 



How, then, are we to maintain the fertility of our 

 orchard lands? We have already seen what are the 

 benefits to wheat and potatoes of plowing under alfalfa, 

 so why not adopt a system of green-manuring for the 

 orchard ? The potato-growers do not think of growing 

 more than two crops of potatoes after alfalfa has been 

 turned under. If they can afford to grow alfalfa for the 

 purpose of producing better potatoes and in the mean- 

 time secure but two crops in five years, surely the orchard- 

 ist can adopt similar methods. There will be no rota- 

 tion with the orchard crop, but an actual saving in labor 

 may be made, since there is little or no cultivation while 

 the green-manure is occupying the ground. The potato- 

 grower secures some returns, to be sure, from the alfalfa 

 hay and from the grain with which it is seeded, but the 

 potato crop is the money-maker. 



We have already noticed both in this and in the 



