34 



FIG CULTURE 



eral fertilizers is often a prodigal waste of money 

 and labor. Soil should be brought to the highest 

 condition of tilth and humus content before ex- 

 pense is incurred for mineral plant food. 



"It is a very astonishing fact, but looked upon 

 in the light of our experiments it is an actual fact, 

 that all soils contain sufficient plant food for the 

 support of plants. Further, when the plant takes 

 into its substance some of the mineral matter from 

 the solution the solid minerals in contact with the 

 solution immediately dissolve and the solution is 

 restored to its former concentration." (U. S., Bull., 

 257.) 



An exhaustive analysis of an apple orchard was 

 recently made. The leaves, wood and fruit gave a 

 basis to estimate the quantity of potash and phos- 

 phorus used per acre; the soil was also analyzed. 

 Results showed that in sixteen inches of top soil 

 there was enough latent food to produce about two 

 hundred consecutive crops, viz: potash adequate 

 for one hundred and eighty-three years, and phos- 

 phorus for two hundred and sixty years. Similar 

 analyses have shown that the demands of wheat, 

 rye, plums and pears are about the same as apples, 

 the facts forcibly illustrating that soil is a very 

 storehouse of potash and phosphorus to be unlocked 

 by every farmer who wishes by tillage and main- 

 taining physical conditions congenial to plant 

 growth. 



