210 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 
is an important constituent. Its function seems to 
be to strengthen the stems and woody portion of 
the tree, to shorten the period of growth, and to 
hasten the time of ripening. Fruit trees growing on 
soils rich in lime show a stocky, steady, vigorous 
growth, and the fruit ripens well, while those on 
soils which contain but little lime, particularly the 
clays, appear to have an extended period of growth, 
the result of which is, that the wood does _ not 
mature and the fruit does not ripen properly.” 
Voorhees also reports* an experiment in the fer- 
tilizing of peaches, showing large gains in crop from 
the separate use of stable manure and fertilizer. 
“Tt is interesting to observe,” he writes—“and it 
is a point of great importance—the effect of an 
abundance of food in overcoming unfavorable weather 
or seasonal conditions. The year 1889 was extremely 
unfavorable, and the crop throughout the state [New 
Jersey] was small. In this experiment the unmanured 
plot yielded at the rate of ten and nine-tenths bas- 
kets per acre, while the manured and fertilized plots 
both showed a yield exceeding one hundred and 
fifty baskets per acre. The manure strengthened and 
stimulated the trees, and enabled them successfully 
to resist such conditions as were fatal to the crop 
on the unmanured land. This point is one that 
is seldom considered in calculating the advantages 
to be derived from proper manuring, though it is of 
extreme value, since the expenses of cultivation, trim- 
* See, also, Repts. N. J. Exp. Sta., 1884-1894, 
