6o 



C. J. Tyson. In a community where a dozen growers get to- 

 gether, which would be the most profitable, early cabbage or early 

 sweet corn, either lOo acres of cabbage or lOO acres of sweet corn? 



Prof. Watts. I think the early cabbage would be more profit- 

 able. It offers greater possibilities, although the sweet corn would 

 probably meet all expenses in developing the orchard. I do not think 

 it necessary to care for an orchard ten years without making a 

 profit on the cultivation of such land. With skillful management, I 

 believe it is possible to buy a farm, plant it with trees and pay for 

 this farm and all expenses incidental to this orchard by the time it 

 comes into bearing. Some men have done this. 



Member. In case you plant sweet corn, potatoes or cabbage, 

 how much fertilizer would you use ? 



Prof. Watts. Sweet corn and cabbage require more nitrogen 

 than potatoes. It is not usual to apply more than 4 or 5 per cent of 

 nitrogen for any of these crops. For early cabbage and sweet corn,, 

 a ton of fertilizer carrying four per cent nitrogen, eight per cent 

 phosphoric acid and 10 per cent potash should give satisfactory re- 

 sults. 



Member. How should a fertilizer be applied. 



Prof. Watts. Most of it should be used broadcast before plant- 

 ing. If the soil is thin, one-fourth of the amount can be used to ad- 

 vantage in the furrows before planting. 



Member. How about hillsides and rocky land for inter-crop- 

 ping? 



Prof. Watts. Inter-cropping should not be practiced on such 



land. 



Member. Should you mulch ? 



Prof. Watts. Yes, I should mulch land that is hard to culti- 

 vate, but it is doubtful whether mulching is effective in growing 

 peaches. 



Mr. Anderson. The orchard should be cultivated both ways. 



Prof. Watts. This could be done by planting in check rows. 



Mr. Anderson. How far apart would you plant potatoes? 



Prof. Watts. They could be planted 30 x 30, with careful 

 marking' and a steady horse to cultivate. Several pieces should be 

 planted in each hill. 



Member. You cannot use a machine in planting if you put 

 several in a hill. 



Prof. Watts. This is true, but hand planting is not such a 

 tedious operation as some suppose. It is not many years since prac- 

 tically all our potatoes were planted by hand and a few highly suc- 

 cessful growers of to-day prefer hand planting. 



Member. What kind of fertilizer do you recommend, especially 

 for large trees ? 



Prof. Watts. I think you have some orchard men here. Pro- 

 fessor Wright, will you answer that question? 



Prof. Wright. As a matter of fact, if I were fertilizing an 

 orchard, especially a cultivated one, I should try to use a leguminous 

 crop every other year in preference to buying nitrogen. Of course 

 a fruit crop does not require as much nitrogen as a grain crop, but 

 most of our soils are deficient in phosphorous and potash. If I 

 were growing an orchard of my own, I should not put on much fer- 



