326 Fertilizers 



naturally well adapted for oranges, growers have found 

 potash to be a specially important element in manures. 

 The nitrogen and phosphoric acid should be accompanied 

 by a larger proportion of potash than is recommended 

 for the stone fruits. Great care should be exercised in the 

 use of nitrogen, though in the case of these semi-tropical 

 crops the danger from immature growth, as in the case of 

 fruits for the more northern climates, is not so marked. 



SMALL-FRUITS 



These crops do not differ from those already discussed 

 in reference to their needs for liberal fertilization, yet be- 

 cause of their different character of growth, the method of 

 fertilization should be somewhat different. They are, as 

 a rule, crops which require a shorter preparatory season, and 

 have a shorter period of bearing life. The strawberry, 

 for example, does not advantageously bear more than two 

 crops without resetting, whereas the blackberry and rasp- 

 berry may range in life from four to eight years, and the 

 gooseberry and currant are relatively long-lived, provided 

 they are supplied with an abundance of food. In respect 

 to their general character, they correspond more nearly 

 with the vegetable crops than with the cereal grains, in 

 that they possess a relatively higher market value and a 

 lower fertility value than these, and the period of growth 

 and development of the fruit is much shorter. Therefore, 

 natural sources of plant-food may be largely ignored in 

 their growth, and the more quickly available particu- 

 larly nitrogenous and phosphatic materials supplied. 



Strawberries. 



In the case of the strawberry, the preparatory period 

 of growth of the plant before bearing is but one year, and 



