APPLES o1l7 
Although there is a great similarity in 
composition in the varieties examined, 
and none differ much from the average 
deduced from them all, it is of interest 
to note that the Fameuse is the richest in 
organic matter, in ash constituents and 
in nitrogen The Wealthy and Northern 
Spy contain almost identical amounts of 
organic matter and ash, and the Duchess 
of Oldenburg has the largest percentage 
of organic matter and ash. 
BF. T. SHutt, 
Chemist of the Dominion Experimental Farms 
Sign of Need 
As to the indications when a bearing 
orchard needs stimulating, the eminent 
pomologist, Doctor Warder, once said: 
“When the growth of the terminal 
branches fails to make an annual exten- 
sion of at least one foot in length, the 
tree should be stimulated by manuring 
the land and giving it thorough cultiva- 
tion ” 
For Young Orchards 
The young orchard will require just 
enough feeding to keep it growing, and 
the amount of manurial elements ap- 
phed should increase in proportion to 
the size of the trees. It is difficult to 
give any definite information on this 
point, for so much depends upon the 
character of the soil, the method of man- 
agement, and the character of the crops 
grown between the trees. For the first 
year, just after planting, about two 
ounces of nitrate of soda and two ounces 
of muriate or sulphate of potash may be 
scattered around each tree, and a gen- 
eral application of about 400 pounds of 
basic slag and 300 pounds of raw ground 
bone per acre, scattered over the whole 
area. The following year the basic slag 
may be omitted and the nitrate of soda 
and sulphate of potash doubled. The 
third and subsequent years, if a cover- 
crop is turned under and the trees are 
making satisfactory growth, the nitrate of 
soda may be omitted and a general ap- 
plication given consisting of 200 pounds 
of sulphate of potash and 300 pounds of 
raw ground bone, to the acre. If at any 
time the cover crop should fail, an appli- 
cation of about 100 pounds to the acre of 
nitrate of soda may need to be applied. 
It is believed that in the past too much 
attention has been given to the use of ni- 
trogenous fertilizers tor young trees, and 
that if more attention is given to the 
mineral elements the trees are likely to 
commence bearing earlier The use of 
lime has also become necessary on many 
soils, and for this reason an occasional 
application of basic slag, which contains 
a large proportion of lime, may be sub- 
stituted for the raw ground bone. 
While these suggestions and recom- 
mendations concerning fertilization may 
prove valuable for certain soils and con- 
ditions, there are undoubtedly many spe- 
cial cases where such advice would be of 
no value and may be entirely misleading. 
On many soils heavy applications of any 
one element of plant food may be un- 
necessary A soil that fails to respond 
to the application of any particular kind 
of plant food, is probably well supplied 
with that element. For these reasons, 
each grower should determine by experi- 
ment the peculiar fertilizer requirements 
of his soil. * 
Feeding the Apple Tree 
Of all the intricate problems relating to 
orchard management, that of feeding the 
apple tree is probably the most perplex- 
ing To a large proportion of the New 
HBngland farmers this problem has never 
presented itself, for they have assumed 
that the orchard did not require fertiliza- 
tion. The specialized apple growers are 
just coming to realize the peculiar fertil- 
izer requirements of the apple and the 
importance of ascertaining the fertilizer 
requirements of their various orchard 
lands. 
Elements Needed 
In general, plants require three ele- 
ments of plant food, and the apple tree is 
no exception. These elements are nitro- 
gen, potash, and phosphoric acid. While 
not usually considered a necessary ele- 
ment of plant food, which must be sup- 
plied, lime is of much benefit to most 
crops and its value should be considered 
when buying fertilizers. If these ele- 
*Or send sample of soil to state chemist 
for analysis.—E 
