The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



pressed gently on the sides until the out- 

 side green husk is no more than evident. 

 Care must, of course, be taken in the process 

 that no harm is done to the kernel, The seeds 

 are then put into a carefully prepared bed at 

 a distance of 6 inches from one another and 

 covered with light tine earth to a height of 2 

 inches. If protection is necessary against vermin 

 some lime and ashes may be spread over the 

 seeds. In districts where the whiter is so severe 

 that the sowing of the seeds harvested in the 

 summer or autumn must be postponed until 

 spring, or where the postponement is deemed 

 advisable, the seed should be placed in slightly 

 moist sand and stored in the cellar during the 

 interval. 



When the trees are as thick as a pen-holder 

 they are grafted 1—2 inches above the ground. 

 In the sub-tropics when the trees are well-treated 



THE GRAFTING CAN TAKE PLACE IN AUGUST, 



provided that the seed was sown in the spring 

 or in the previous autumn. The transplanting 

 will then be carried out in the following spring. 

 The most suitable distance to be left between 

 the trees is 5 yards in each direction ; it is 

 only in dwarf culture that the distance can be 

 reduced to 4 yards. 



The harvesting of the almonds is simple and 

 convenient. It is only necessary to wait until 

 the green outside fruit husks have sprung open 

 when the almonds, which have fallen out, may 

 be picked up from under the trees. This, how- 

 ever, requires a good deal of time, for the 

 springing open of the husks does not take place 

 within a narrow limited period and is besides 

 only incomplete in the case of many varieties. 

 It is preferred, therefore, in the larger plant- 

 ations to pluck the almonds like other fruit 

 and break open the husks after they are brought 

 into the granary. This is also a slow process 

 if carried out by means of a wooden hammer, 

 so that the invention of a machine for 

 doing the work is a "consummation de- 

 voutly to be wished'' by the almond cultivator. 



Fkrtilisation. 



With regard to this subject there is unfortu- 

 nately not much available data on which to 

 base conclusions, but the facts that are known 

 are presented here for the consideration of the 

 reader. The amount of plant food contained in 

 the leaves and branches of the almond tree is 

 practically immaterial for our purpose, as it is 

 for the most part returned to the soil. What 

 we must consider is the quantities of the im- 

 portant constituents that are withdrawn per- 

 manently from the soil through the medium of 

 the fruit. According to the analysis of Zedeler, 

 the almond contains :— 



38 - 20 parts per 1,000 of Nitrogen 

 13-70 „ „ „ ,, Potash 

 21-40 ,, ,, „ „ Phosphoric acid 

 4-30 „ „ „ „ Lime 



A tree, therefore, in full bearing, which yields 

 annually 45 lb of almonds (without husks), will 

 remove annually from the soil :— 



1'68 lbs Nitrogen 

 0'60 „ Potash 

 - 94 „ Phosphoric acid 



0'19 „ Lime 



Assuming now there aro 40 trees to the acre, 

 we find that the quantities of the important 

 fertilising ingredients removed per acre from 

 the soil by the corresponding crop of almonds— 

 1,800 lb.— are:— 



67"2 lb, Nitrogen | 37 '6 lb. Phosphoric acid 

 24'0 „ Potash | 7-6,. Lime 



From these figures it is plainly evident that, 

 if the almond tree is to maintain its prolifity, 

 the soil must be replenished with the proper 

 amounts of plant food. How is this to be ac 

 complished ? In the first place, it will be neces- 

 sary to find an economic method of supplying 

 Nitrogen, for it would prove too costly to 

 apply this constituent all in the form of 

 chemical manures. From the figure given 

 above there would bo necessary for this purpose 

 no le3s a quantity of Nitrate of Soda than 3| 

 cwts. per acre. It is preferable, therefore, to 

 have recourse to green manuring and to supple- 

 ment this with small quantities of Nitrate of 

 Soda or Sulphate of Ammonia. 



On calcareous soils, or soils which are not poor 

 in lime, Sainfoin should be cultivated every 

 third, fourth or fifth year and ploughed in at the 

 time of flowering. This will supply with roots, 

 stems, etc., at least 180-220 lb. of Nitrogen per 

 acre, corresponding to 10,000-13,000 lb. green 

 material. This manuring along with an appli- 

 cation of 2-2| lb. Nitrate of Soda or Sulphate 

 of Ammonia per tree will provide sufficient 

 Nitrogen. 



On sandy soils it is advisable to grow lupines 

 every second or third year. This crop, buried 

 in the green condition, will supply 130 1b. 

 Mitrogen per acre or 13,000 lb. of green material. 



In the case of many sandy soils or sandy- 

 loams the better plant is Bird's-foot (Orni- 

 thopus), which will supply 10,000 lb. of green 

 material, equivalent to 120 lb. of Nitrogen per 

 acre. It is recommended to cultivate this crop 

 every alternate year. In the same way, many 

 other leguminous crops may be grown for the 

 purpose of enriching the soil with Nitrogen, but 

 at the same time it will be found advantageous 

 to supplement this method by the application 

 of artificial nitrogenous manures at the rate 

 indicated above. 



Referring again to the figures at the begin- 

 ning we find that each almond tree requires 

 yearly 60 lb. Potash or 40 trees (occupying 

 one acre) 24*0 lb. To restore this constituent to 

 the soil, one of the three following salts should 

 be applied and at the rate suggested : — 



Per Tree Per acre (40 trees) 



Sulphate of Potash .. li lb. 601b. 



Muriate of Potash ... „ „ 



Kainit . . 6 lb. 240 lb. 



The Sulphate ot Potash should be employed 

 preferably on the heavy soils deficient in lime, 

 while the Muriate is to be reserved for those 

 containing sufficient lime and Kainit for the 

 sandy soils. 



With regard to phosphoric acid we observe 

 that each tree is responsible for an annual loss 

 of 94 lb. or 40 trees (occupying 1 acre) 37"6 lb. 

 It will, therefore, be necessary to use the fol- 

 lowing quantity of one or other of the phos- 

 phatic manures : — 



Per tree. Per acre (40 trees.) 



Superphosphate 6 lb. 200 lb. 



Pasic Slag 6 lb. 2401b. 



