40 BITTER PIT INVESTIGATION. 



STOCKS. 



The stock now universally adopted for the propagation of the apple is the Northern Spy stock. 

 This is perfectly immune from the attacks of Woolly Aphis, and as it makes very fibrous roots and is a 

 strong, vigorous grower, it is an ideal stock on which to work the apple. The stock should be worked 

 at least six inches from the ground, as if worked on the surface the scion is apt to throw out roots 

 which will be attacked by Woolly Aphis. The Winter Majetin is sometimes used as a stock for the 

 apple, but it is now losing favour with orchardists, as it has the habit of throwing out long naked 

 roots without any fibres ; and sometimes one strong root will grow out at one side, so that, when the 

 tree grows fairly large, with a crop of fruit it is very liable to be blown over by a gale of wind. For 

 these reasons it is not advisable to use the Winter Majetin as a stock. 



IRRIGATION. 



To get the very best results from a full-bearing orchard, it is necessary that a good supply of 

 water should be available during the summer months. Even in districts having an average annual 

 rainfall of twenty-six inches a good supply of water during January, February, and March would be 

 very beneficial, as it is during these months that the greatest drain on the soil for moisture occurs, 

 and the rainfall at that time on an average is very light. The orchardists of Doncaster, Victoria, 

 have now recognized this, and they arc constructing dams at a great expense for the purpose of con- 

 serving all the water they possibly can to use during the summer for irrigation. 



MANURING. 



The manuring of orchards is of the greatest importance to fruit-growers, as when the orchard 

 comes into full bearing it will be necessary to put back into the soil those substances that have been 

 taken out by the various crops of fruit. If an orchard be planted on fairly good soil, well managed 

 and cultivated, no manuring will be necessary until the orchard comes into full bearing and has pro- 

 duced good crops of fruit for a few years. When that time arrives it will be very necessary, if the 

 orchard is to be kept in a good state of fertility and productiveness, to manure regularly every year. 

 The most essential elements of plant food taken from the soil by a crop of fruit are nitrogen, phosphoric 

 acid, and potash, and these have to be replaced by artificial manure. The best and most economical 

 way to apply nitrogen to the soil is by green manuring with a cover crop of field peas. As early hi 

 autumn as possible, about the month of April, the orchard should be ploughed and sown with field 

 peas at the rate of two bushels to the acre. They should be in flower and thus ready to plough in, the 

 beginning of September. A heavy roller should first be run over the peas to crush them down, then 

 they should be ploughed in. This should completely cover up the peas, and to assist, the plough should 

 be fitted with a revolving coulter to cut the crop. By this method, not only is nitrogen added, but 

 humus also. Phosphoric acid is best applied in the form of superphosphate of lime 16 per cent, and 

 potash by sulphate of potash 52 per cent. These should be applied at the rate of three cwt. 

 of superphosphate and one and a half cwt. of potash to the acre. Before applying, the two should 

 be mixed together thoroughly and sown broadcast. As the roots of the trees in a full-bearing orchard 

 are spread all over the ground, it would be a mistake to merely apply the manure under the trees. 

 The best time to apply the manure is when the peas are being ploughed in. After the peas are rolled, 

 the manure should then be applied and the crop ploughed under. Stable manure, wherever it is 

 available, should be applied to the orchard, but the supply is generally limited. It is therefore neces- 

 sary to substitute artificial manures in its place. Lime, applied at the rate of three cwt. per acre 

 every second year, is also very beneficial. The chief value of lime lies not so much in its value as a 

 manure, but in the mechanical effects it produces in the soil and its power to free unavailable potash 

 salts. 



