SOIL FERTILITY 
21 
The location of the orchard must be right, for there is no way to 
change it once the trees are set. The depth of the soil should bo right. 
The soil can be loosened up by dynamiting so that the trees can go 
farther down than they could naturally, but there is no way to overcome 
the disadvantage of a soil that is very shallow. 
It is an advantage to have a soil that is naturally fertile, but other 
things are much more important. 
Fertility is the one thing that can be built up — hence, it is always the 
last to be given consideration. An orchard can be planted on very poor 
land without losing time to build up the fertility. 
For this purpose organic fertilizers, like sheep guano, which is a com- 
plete fertilizer, or a complete fertilizer from the packing houses, which 
does not contain chemicals, can be used. It does not take a great deal to 
supply the requirements of the trees for the first year or two. In the 
meantime, the entire field can be built up by proper rotation of cover 
crops and use of fertilizers; so, as the orchard grows, the soil can be en- 
riched. 
Fertilizers Many fruit growers make a good profit by using noth- 
ing but complete commercial fertilizers, but this is not 
the most economical or satisfactory plan. There are cheaper and better 
ways to do it. Fruit-growers as well as farmers of this country have not 
paid enough attention to the fertility of their soil. They are too much 
like the old pioneer who had been robbing new land of its stored-up fer- 
tility. He was invited to hear a lecture on "Soil Improvement," and he 
replied; "I don't want to hear any lecture like that — I know all there is 
to know about it because I have already worn out three farms, and they 
can't tell me anything." 
In the European countries, the people have been forced not only to 
maintain the fertility of their soil, but to improve it, because land there 
has been scarce. Land is getting scarcer every year in this dountry, so 
that the successful man will be the one who' can not only keep up the 
fertility of the soil, but make it richer at the least possible expense. 
Complete commercial fertilizers are all right as a makeshift, but 
they are too expensive in the long run. 
Cover Crops To keep the fertility of the soil and to improve the 
fertility of run-down land, there should be a system 
of cover crops, such as cow peas, soy beans, clover, vetch, and in some 
instances alfalfa. These will build up the soil. They add humus, which 
is partly decayed plant matter. 
A soil that is rich in humus looks dark and fertile — one that has little 
humus looks thin and poor. Humus has many beneficial effects on the 
soil; it is so necessary that you might add any quantity of chemical fer- 
tilizers to the soil, but if you do not keep up the supply of humus, the 
land will get in such bad shape that it will not produce crops. 
The cover crops add nitrogen, the most expensive kind of fertilizer 
that you have to buy. The cover crops take nitrogen from the air. 
■Thero are ten elements that are necessary in the soil, but, as a rule 
all except three are present in the soil. These three are nitrogen, phos- 
phate and potash. It often happens that where these throe seem to be 
lacking there are really plenty of them locked up in the soil, but in such 
a form that the trees can not use them. 
Here is where the humus is especially helpful, because the cover crops 
take these elements that are in the soil and work them over and leave 
them in a form that the trees can use. 
However, these elements are sometimes actually lacking in the soil. 
They may not be there in any form, and, to get the best results, they 
should bo added. Nearly all soils can be benefited by the addition of nitro- 
gen, and cover crops are the best way to add this element to the soil. 
