464 



SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



When the manure is not available, similar benefits may often be 

 secured with an application of about 500 pounds per acre of a commercial 

 fertilizer carrying about 5 or 6 per cent of nitrogen, 8 per cent of phosphoric 

 acid (P2O5), and 3 or 4 per cent of potash (K 2 0). This is enough for 

 bearing trees and it should be supplemented by a mulch or tillage to conserve 

 the moisture. For younger trees, the application should be reduced approx- 

 imately in proportion to 

 the reduction in area 

 covered. 



The area of applica- 

 tion should be about the 

 same as that described 

 above for mulches, and 

 the best time for the fer- 

 tilizer is probably some- 

 what after the fruit has 

 set. The manure may 

 well be applied any time 

 during late winter or 

 early spring. In any 

 orchard it is always best 

 to leave a few typical 

 trees unfertilized until 

 the actual value of the 

 fertilization is deter- 

 mined. 



Protecting the 

 Trees. — The chief ene- 

 mies of young trees are 

 mice, rabbits, borers and 

 the San Jose scale. The 

 screens described above 

 are the surest protection 

 against the first two, 

 though poisoned syrup or 

 shot-guns may also be 

 useful. 

 For the borers, a protective covering, such as the lime-sulphur concen- 

 trate more or less mixed with sediment or lime, is often very helpful if 

 renewed frequently enough. It can be readily applied either with a brush 

 or a coarse spray nozzle and the trunk should be thoroughly coated to a 

 height of eighteen inches or more. It should be kept in good shape from 

 about the middle of June to the middle of September, after which the trees 

 should be gone over carefully and any borers that may have entered in spite 

 of the coating should be cut out or killed with a wire. 



A Power Sprayer Adapted to Large Trees. 

 A gasoline engine gives uniformly high pressure. 



