Nitrogen for Orchards. 218 
ducing a poorly matured growth, which will be likely 
to suffer in winter. Orchards are grown for fruit, 
not for forestry purposes. In general, it is better 
to supply nitrogen by good cultivation—which assists 
nitrification—and an occasional green-manure crop, 
than by the application of nitrogenous fertilizers. 
If the orchard is not growing, and is yellowish in 
foliage, good cultivation—begun early and repeated 
very frequently—in connection with the use of pot- 
ash, phosphoric acid and green manures, will com. 
monly correct it. It is probable that lack of 
moisture is quite as much the cause of the weak- 
ness as lack of nitrogen, particularly if the orchard 
has been in sod. Now and then a tree will be 
found which fails to respond to ordinary treatment. 
If the tree is healthy—that is, not attacked by dis- 
ease or borers—it may sometimes be brought into 
a vigorous condition by applying to it a_ light 
dressing of nitrate of soda; but this treatment 
need seldom be applied to an entire orchard which 
has been well handled. 
An experiment made by the Cornell Station (and 
unreported) gave very decided results from the use 
of nitrate of soda alone. An apple orchard about 
twenty-five years old and unproductive, standing 
upon a rather hard and dryish light clay loam, was 
plowed in the fall of 1894, and certain trees were 
given an application of ten pounds of nitrate of 
soda. Contiguous rows received heavy applications 
of sulfate of potash and muriate of potash. All 
materials were applied October 1, 1894. The or- 
