I»0 THE AMERICAN APPLE ORCHARD 



At any rate he should give the best care of which he 

 is capable. The idea of keeping a family orchard in 

 grass, and mowing it for hay, is ridiculous ; yet this 

 plan is widely followed. As the family apple trees will 

 usually be grown in some sort of garden along with 

 the family peach, plum and quince trees, the currant 

 and gooseberry bushes, the strawberries and possibly 

 the cabbages and tomatoes, cultivation is all the more 

 convenient and appropriate. 



In the matter of fertilization the difference is least 

 between the management of the home orchard and the 

 commercial plantation. The methods already sug- 

 gested in this book — pages 94-98 — may be safely 

 followed. As the small grower, however, will not 

 care to mix special fertilizers for his apple trees, he 

 should feel at liberty to use some other formulas, 

 more convenient to secure, though possibly less exactly 

 adapted to the needs of apple trees. As ready-mixed 

 fertilizers are most commonly used by small farmers 

 and householders, it may be well to notice that the so- 

 called potato fertilizers sold by leading manufacturers 

 will meet the requirements, though less economically. 

 Even barnyard manure, though quite too rich in ni- 

 trogen, may be used on apple trees in moderate quan- 

 tities without danger. There are thousands of apple 

 trees in the country which would be benefited by a 

 good ration of barnyard manure; but the writer 

 cannot remember to have seen apple trees anywhere 

 injured by getting too much of this sort of plant 

 food. 



Pruning in the home orchard will follow pretty 

 much the same lines as in the commercial plantation. 

 The chief difference is that the amateur grower can- 

 not usually supply himself with such a complete outfit 



