134 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
material in all fertilizers, and is used 
as a filler. It is the basis of fertilizers. 
Mr.-It seems to me there have 
been many conflicting statements 
made. Now, suppose I fertilize this 
year's crop; does this year’s crop or 
next year’s crop get the benefit of it? 
Mr. Hubbard—You fertilize both 
crops. That is, if the application is 
put on before the fruit has matured. 
The fruit keeps on growing and ma¬ 
turing and the sap takes up the food 
elements and carries them to the fruit 
already on the tree. If you use a well- 
balanced fertilizer, you fertilize the 
present crop and also put in the foun¬ 
dation for the next year's crop. 
There has been a good deal of ex¬ 
perimenting done since we have be¬ 
gun using commercial fertilizers, both 
as to discovering what constituents a 
complete fertilizer should have, and 
with the different elements used sep¬ 
arately. It is generally agreed that 
the office of phosphoric acid in the sap 
is to assist in the transference of su¬ 
gar and starch to build up plant tis¬ 
sues. I believe the general experience 
in using potash alone after midsum¬ 
mer or early in the fall after the trees 
have stopped growing, is to increase 
the acidity and retard the ripening of 
the fruit. Liebig, the father of agri¬ 
cultural chemistry, stated in substance 
that after the alkaline salts had served 
as bases for nitrates, they were used 
by the plant as bases for the organic 
acids that are transferred into the 
starches which build up the plant. 
Potash without nitrogen misses its 
first office in plant growth. 
Mrs. Prange—As I understand it, 
it is better to start the growth with 
the airmonia an 1 harden it with the 
potash. My father's grove was af¬ 
flicted with die-back until he used 
more potash. 
Mr. Rose—In the last few years we 
have gradually increased the potash 
until now we are using ten per cent, 
in many instances. The method of 
applying is the question. It depends 
very much upon the condition of the 
tree, the location of the grove, etc. No 
two are alike any more than two cases 
of illness present the same aspect to 
a physician. Now, we have fought this 
out at session after session ever since 
I have been a member, and we will 
never agree upon a general proposi¬ 
tion. If a specific case were given 
where the condition of the tree, the 
season, the former treatment of the 
tree, its present growth, and every¬ 
thing known about that tree, it might 
be possible to tell just exactly what 
that tree needs, and when and how to 
be applied. .The general supposition, 
as our Professor Hubbard has said, is 
that potash is a vehicle for the trans¬ 
ference of sugar and starch from the 
root to the foliage and tree. 
Mr. Longley—I have been fertiliz¬ 
ing my trees in November, usually, 
for the next year, and have met with 
very good success. My trees bear a 
good crop right along. This year I 
fertilized in October, for the reason 
that help is very scarce and I had 
get my trees plowed before the or¬ 
ange packing began. 
As Mr. Hubbard says, he thinks it 
retards the growth to put on too much 
potash. I think it retards the ripen¬ 
ing of the fruit. 
Mr. Reaves—I fertilized with potash 
after the fruit had set, the blooms had 
shed and you could see little oranges. 
