Stable Manures for Fruits. 211 
ming, and interest on investment are quite as great 
in one case as in the other.” 
Stable manure.—The kinds of fertilizing applica- 
tions are of two types, stable manures and concen- 
trated or commercial plant-foods. The stable manures 
exercise a most important effect upon the physical 
features of the soil, and, in fact, this is often their 
greatest value. In this respect, stable manures may 
answer much the same purpose as green or cover 
crops, particularly if they are applied in fall or 
early winter. When manure is not sufficient to 
cover the entire plantation, it should be applied to 
the hardest and driest spots only, and these spots 
should be observed and noted the previous season. 
Lands which are so hard or dry that even rye will 
not catch, may be got under way for the cover 
crops by liberal applications of barn manures. Rota- 
tion in the use of fertilizers may be found to be 
as useful as it is in the case of cover crops. A 
soil which has had a liberal application of stable 
manure one year, may profit more by some chemical 
fertilizer the next year. 
In orchards which are thorougly tilled, the use 
of barn manures should sometimes be discouraged, 
for the chief element of fertility in them—if they 
are not leached—is usually nitrogen. This advice is 
particularly applicable to vineyards, and all other 
fruits which run very strongly to wood. In such 
cases, it is better economy to apply the manures to 
the annual crops of the farm. The old, neglected 
apple orchards of the country, however, may receive 
