Orchard Fruits and Berries 317 



If they are allowed to remain until mature, they absorb 

 not only the food that may be necessary for the growth of 

 tree and fruit, but the moisture also, and thus they fre- 

 quently injure rather than improve the crop prospects. 



On soils of good natural character, the fertilization of 

 apples and pears should begin as soon as the trees reach 

 the bearing period, and an annual application of 400 pounds 

 to the acre of either formula should be made, preferably in 

 early spring, and plowed in. As they grow older and the 

 yield of fruit is larger, the amounts should be increased. 

 While no definite rules can be laid down as to the most 

 profitable amounts to apply, the best growers find that it 

 pays to use from 1000 to 1500 pounds annually of mixtures 

 which furnish practically the amounts and kinds of plant- 

 food contained in the formulas suggested. The profit is 

 found, not only in the larger yield, but in the quality of the 

 fruit and in the increased tendency toward continuous 

 crops, and in longer life of the tree. On soils of medium 

 character the fertilization should begin earlier, and the 

 amounts of the basic fertilizer should be larger. In many 

 cases, too, nitrogen, in addition to that contained in the 

 basic formula, should be added, the kind and form de- 

 pending, perhaps, upon the relative cost more than upon 

 any other one thing, the minimum amount to be 20 pounds 

 to the acre, or an equivalent of 125 pounds of nitrate of 

 soda. 



On poor soils, the necessity for fertilizing is naturally 

 greater than for either of the others. In fact, on these 

 liberal fertilization 500 pounds to the acre of basic 

 formula No. 2 should precede the setting of the trees, 

 and be continued annually. On these soils, too, green 

 manuring as a source of nitrogen can be practiced with 

 safety for a longer period than in the preceding case. In 



