8 N. H. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 199 



COULD ALMOST DOUBLE CROP 



These results are being written almost as axioms into the apple 

 laws of the state. A few of the 850,000 bearing apple trees of 

 New Hampshire are receiving the best of care, but the application 

 of these results to the remainder would mean an increase of more 

 than three bushels in the annual production per tree. Provid- 

 ing that not over one fourth of the uncared-for trees in the state 

 are of the proper varieties, sound and well located, the commercial 

 apple crop of the state would even then be increased on a con- 

 servative estimate from 100,000 to 200,000 barrels per year. 

 This could mean an added revenue of $350,000 or more annually to 

 the farmers of the state, and will actuall}^ mean a large sum. 



The research work in orchard fertility has been of far-reaching 

 importance, and has attracted national attention. Similar ex- 

 periments are being conducted in vegetable gardening, which will 

 have important bearing upon the $400,000 trucking industry of 

 the state. 



HOME-MIXING AIDED 



Information regarding the best mixtures of fertilizers for vari- 

 ous crops and the most profitable combinations of chemicals at 

 current prices is furnished by the Experiment Station to farmers 

 throughout the state. 



This has resulted in aiding greatly the intelligent purchase and 

 home-mixing of chemicals. By mixing his own fertilizers the 

 farmer has been able to save an average of at least $8 a ton. Last 

 year the estimated saving in this respect was from $10 to $24 a 

 ton, with an average of $15. The Extension Service has made 

 telling use of the fertilizer data compiled by the Station; and in 

 three counties alone last year 750 tons of chemicals for home- 

 mixing were ordered as a direct result of the work. This meant a 

 saving to the buyers of over $11,000 in actual cash outlay. 



In order to determine whether home-mixed fertilizers were of 

 as high a quality as the factory-mixed goods, the Station secured 

 samples from farmers in different sections of the state and com- 

 pared them with the commercial product. The results showed 

 that the farmer with a shovel, a broom, a tamper and a sand 

 screen can do a pretty fair job. The variations in the complete 

 factory-mixed goods were almost as wide as those found with 

 the home-mixed fertilizers. This means that the saving to the 



