CHAPTER IV. 
THE FERTILIZING OF FRUIT LANDS. 
-Any land which is fit for the growing of crops 
will maintain a fruit plantation throughout its exist- 
ence without the addition of plant-food, and enable 
the trees to produce at the same time a normal quan- 
tity and quality of fruit. But the profit in fruit- 
growing lies in securing the extra normal or superior 
quantity and quality, and this result demands fertiliz- 
ing of the land and every other good care. How 
much plant-food the farmer should add to his land 
depends upon the amount of increase or profit which 
he secures. It is a matter of business, an item of 
profit and loss. If the fruit-grower applies five tons 
of fertilizer to every acre and secures a profit on the 
investment, the quantity is none too large; but in 
many instances it is a loss of the material to add 
anything. The successful merchant is the one who is 
dissatisfied with a normal and common trade, but he 
forces the demand by attracting and interesting his 
customers beyond the point of their actual needs. 
There are many causes which contribute to the 
unsatisfactory results of applying fertilizers, but the 
commonest one is lack of proper tillage and prepara- 
tion of the land.  Poorly-tilled land, as we have 
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