The Canadian Horticulturist. 171 



As a formula for mixing the above materials, for an acre of apples or other 

 fruits, we would then have 



50 to 100 pounds nitrate of soda. 

 TOO to 200 pounds muriate of potash. 

 200 to 400 pounds ground bone. 



If 50 to 100 bushels of unleached wood ashes could be obtained, they would 

 more than take the place of the potash, and would supply perhaps one-half of 

 the phosphoric acid required. 



Before using any chemical fertilizers to any extent, it is well to test the effect 

 of each of the above materials on separate plats, in order to learn if they have 

 any effect. Oftentimes one or more of them will be found to be present in 

 sufficiently large quantities, and if more was applied it would only be wasted. 



The soluble chemicals should only be applied in the spring, or, better yet, 

 after growth has commenced ; they should generally be scattered broadcast, and 

 harrowed or dragged, rather than plowed in. Precautions should be taken, not 

 to bring these chemical fertilizers in contact with the roots of trees, as the results 

 might be disastrous. 



L. R. Taft. 



Bulletin 81, Agricultural College, Mich., 



March i, i8g2. 



Hogs in the Orchard. — Sheep leave their manure merely as a top-dressing 

 for the orchard ; hogs work theirs into the soil. Sheep harden the ground ; 

 hogs disturb the turf and leave it uneven, but you get finer fruit in consequence. 

 Sheep eat all the tender twigs and leaves they can get hold of ; hogs seldom 

 touch the limbs. Hogs sometimes disturb the roots, but this is oftener bene- 

 ficial than otherwise. An orchard set 50 years ago was not bearing fruit of any 

 value. Two acres of it were fenced and some hogs turned in. The next year 

 more of the orchard was included and more hogs allowed to run in it. They 

 turned over every inch of the sod and kept down the weeds, and the trees bore a 

 good crop. This year the fence was moved to include two rows of trees formerly 

 in the sheep pasture, and the improvement is very marked. The difference in 

 the two parts of the orchard where the hogs and sheep run is so much in favor 

 ef the former that it can be seen for half a mile. 



Young orchards should be given a thorough cultivation during the first few 

 years after planting, providing sufficient fertilizing material is supplied. Many 

 of the most profitable orchards are on such steep hillsides that they cannot be 

 cultivated, and in these is the place to let the hogs do the work. While an 

 orchard will do well in sod if thoroughly mulched, yet it will do better if the 

 sod is turned under, the soil stirred and loosened about the trees. — Far7)i aiid 

 Home. 



