500 lAsSEYMBL 



gioles and covered again with the soil. From the large quantity 

 of lime which the barkand leaves of the apple tree were known, 

 even at that early day, to contain, he had limed liberally, which 

 doubtless operated in promoting the decomposition of the organic 

 portions of the compost and in rendering all portions soluble in 

 water for the use of the tree ; that the portions of his orchard 

 thus treated had produced good crops of fruit every year instead 

 of every other year as was the case with unfed trees. 



The great age of tlie apple tree was spoken of; some were 

 known in England two thousand years old. A member present 

 stated that he had cut down a tree on his farm the year after its 

 having given a full crop of fruit and found the trunk to have 

 two hundi'ed and fifty annual rings. 



It was stated that one thousand pounds of apples contained 

 one hundred and seventy pounds of organic matter, which must 

 necessarily be used from soils containing apple trees and therefore 

 required renewal ; nor must this organic matter be of a fermenta- 

 ble or heating kind: muck, river mud, woods-earth, chip manure 

 or other cold composts — fully decomposed tan and, indeed, any ot 

 the results of vegetable decay which had lost its power of re- 

 heating by additions of moisture. 



The inorganic requirements also require renewal; thus, one 

 hundred pounds of the ashes of apples would yield four pounds 

 of lime, twenty-four pounds of soda, two pounds of chlorine, and 

 probably a still larger amount of these ingredients for forming 

 the leaves, bark and wood. Among other constituents the phos- 

 phates are required, sulphuric acid is also necessary to ensure 

 fruitfulness ; potash must be added and therefore the latter mate- 

 rials should be added to the muck, mud or wood-earth, so that, 

 in addition to furnishing the inorganic amendments, they might 

 assist in the decomposition of the organic matter and render the 

 whole fit for use in the orchard. Phosphoric acid, sulphuric 

 acid and lime will result from the solution of bones in sulphuric 

 acid ; chlorine, lime and soda from the decomposition of common 

 salt by lime, while the potash may be added in the form of wood 

 ashes— -either or all these render organic matter slowly soluble 



