APPLES 
‘s an immediate need of nitrogen. This 
element is mostly needed early in the 
geason to provide tor a good growth of 
branch and root and abundance of foliage. 
An excess, especially late in the season, 
tends toward continued growth and late 
maturing, and poorer color in the fruit. 
Quantity Needed 
In case dependence is placed on the 
commercial forms of potash and phos- 
phoric acid, the conditions will ordinarily 
call for at least 200 pounds of ground 
pone, 100 pounds of Carolina superphos- 
phate and 100 to 200 pounds of muriate 
of potash. The amounts mentioned would 
ordinarily prove moderate applications. 
The potash may be increased to 400 or 
500 pounds per acre without injury, but 
of course large amounts must not be 
placed immediately about the roots, es- 
pecially near the trunk. The commer- 
cial forms of potash and phosphoric acid 
tend to produce a firmer wood than stable 
manures, or natural fertility, and this 
means less tenderness under winter con- 
ditions. The application should com- 
monly be made previous to a plowing 
when it will be mixed with the soil. Fer- 
tilizers on the surface, if slowly soluble, 
have a tendency to invite the feeding 
roots to the surface. To reduce the ef- 
fects of drouths to the minimum the 
plan from the start would be to encour- 
age a deeper root system, which early 
plowing, fertilizing and subsequent till- 
age will encourage if thoroughly done. 
EXRNEST WALKER, 
Fayetteville, Ark. 
Soil Balancers 
We know what it means to have a 
balanced ration of human food. No mat- 
ter how good an article of food may be, 
if the individual is compelled to eat that 
and nothing else, he not only tires of 
it, but it is impossible for him to main- 
tain on that food alone a good degree of 
health. 
This has been discovered to be true in 
the feeding of stock, and it is a com- 
mon remark among the breeders of poul- 
try that hens in order to lay large quan- 
tities of egzgs must have a balanced ra- 
tion. The same is true of vegetable life. 
319 
The elements necessary for plant growth 
must be in proper proportions if the 
plant is to thrive, 
Some soils act as balancers for others. 
It is known that clav is a fertilizer for 
sandy loam, that is, the clay when added 
to the sand improves the soil by mak- 
ing a balanced ration, thus fertilizing it. 
Sand will also fertilize a clay soil. In 
like manner, it will fertilize a boggy soil, 
a gumbo or an adobe soil, and in turn 
the boggy soil will fertilize the sand or 
the clays of the upland. A soil rich in 
humus will fertilize both sand and clay, 
while gypsum is a good top dressing for 
alkali soils, and alkali is a fertilizer for 
soils deficient in the alkali substances. 
Alkali is a fertilizer up to a certain 
point, after which it becomes injurious. 
The proper balance of food substances 
for the different kinds of vegetables and 
fruits may be hard to determine, but in 
his ability to discover this balance lies 
the difference between the ordinary 
farmer and the one who succeeds in the 
highest degree. 
GRANVILLE LOWTHER. 
Manufactured Fertilizers 
There are many kinds of manufactured 
fertilizers, some of which are valuable 
only for special soils or special crops. 
It is difficult to determine what fertilizer 
it is best to use without knowing what 
elements are lacking in the soil. The 
three elements most commonly needed 
by soils are nitrogen, potash, and phos- 
phoric acid; and chemical fertilizers that 
contain the largest percentages of these 
substances in available form will be the 
most valuable. 
A fertilizer containing 114 to 2 per 
cent of nitrogen, 7 to 9 per cent of avail- 
able phosphoric acid, and 10 to 12 per cent 
of potash will give excellent results when 
applied to orchard land in quantity rang- 
ing from 400 to 600 pounds per acre. 
Fertilizer Formulas 
It is a difficult matter to formulate any 
rule for the fertilization of apple or- 
chards. Briefly stated, the manurial rec- 
ommendations are dependent upon the 
age of the trees; the vigor, as indicated 
by the annual growth; the nature of the 
