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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  April  27,  1899. 
At  this  season  Nature  seems  at  once  our  friend  and  our  foe, 
so  often  does  winter  take  leave,  yet  seem  reluctant  to  depart.  The 
old  magician  smilingly  waves  her  wand  over  the  fare  branches, 
and  fruit  trees  arc  transformed  into  bridal  wreaths  for  the 
marriage  of  Nature  by  her  winged  messengers  of  love.  AVhen  she 
begins  with  so  much  pomp  and  show  why  is  the  end  so  little 
and  so  low  ?  This  in  allusion  to  an  average  season,  when  winter 
and  spring  seem,  somehow,  so  hopelessly  mixed.  Is  it  something 
beyond  our  ken  or  help?  Not  wholly  so,  perhaps.  Note  an 
aged  Apple  tree,  or  an  old  Pear  tree  in  all  its  present  picturesque 
beauty.  There  are  thousands  of  such  trees,  beautiful  for  a  time,  yet 
subsequently  fruitless,  to  point  the  moral  of  devitalisalion.  It  is 
much  the  same  in  fruit  results  with  the  young  and  vigorous— in  habit 
gross,  in  nature  plethoric — while  blossoms  on  other  trees,  firm,  matured, 
and  constitutionally  sound,  may  come  unscathed  through  the  passing- 
frost— a  lesson  in  nature  not  to  be  overlooked,  but  on  the  contrary, 
recognised  and  turned  to  account  as  best  we  may  in  our  methods  of 
cultivation. 
“So  simple  is  the  earth  we  tread.”  But  how  marvellous  in  its 
fecundity  !  Nature  is  a  merchant  who  works  up  every  shred  and  ort 
and  end  into  new  creations.  So  said  that  great  metaphorical  moralist, 
Emerson.  Since  that  stupendous  third  day  of  Creation,  whose 
morning  saw  the  first  faint  trace  of  the  lowly  Lichen’s  life,  and  the 
evening  closed  upon  gigantic  plants  whose  skeletons  are  ensnrined  in 
our  coalbeds;  down  through  the  countless  ages  to  our  own  little  span, 
has  the  sublime  work  been  carried  on.  “  Dust  to  dust,”  the  record  of 
the  centuries,  still  affords  material  for  the  great  rebuilding— great  ruins 
making  way  for  greater  glories,  animal  or  vegetable,  either,  both, 
each  dependent  on  the  other.  Though  spring  effects,  as  seen  in 
the  mighty  regeneration  imply  subsequent  exhaustion,  this  is  only 
the  precursor  of  continued  life  and  deterioration  not  apparent  on 
our  planet. 
“  Quick  with  life  and  love  her  frame”  undoubtedly  is.  Changes 
there  must  be,  here  and  there,  in  spots  on  the  surface,  but  over  the 
great  circumference  as  a  whole  there  is  no  exhaustion  yet,  and  should 
it  ever  occur  who  knows  what  great  revivifying  force  may  be 
yielded  by  the  wondrous  atmosphere  so  rich  in  the  edements  of  food 
production  and  earth  rejuvenation  ?  Sufficient  for  the  day,  however, 
are  the  fertilisers  to  hand,  and  there  is  no  greater  advance  shown 
in  the  history  of  our  ministrations  to  the  vegetable  kingdom  than 
that  of  concentrated  foods  for  the  nutriment  of  its  subjects.  The 
well-fed  plant  is  like  the  well-fed  animal,  in  being  better  able  to 
withstand  the  vicissitudes  of  our  climate.  It  is  an  jold  story, 
a  propos  of  this,  of  the  ducal  employer  who  predicted  to  his  gardener 
that  good  time  coming  when  one  waistcoat  pocket  would  hold 
sufficient  to  fertilise  the  garden;  with  the  reply  that  the  fellow  pocket 
would  then,  probably,  hold  the  produce.  In  its  broader  sense  the 
time  has  not  arrived,  and  possibly  never  will,  when,  without  under¬ 
rating  these  refined  aids  to  fertility,  bulk,  as  represented  in  the  ancient 
form  of  restoration,  will  be  regarded  as  of  no  account.  Where 
chemical  manures  have  been  wholly  employed  for  some  years  (an 
instance  is  under  notice).  Nature  seems  a  little  inclined  to  resent 
this  homoeopathic  dosing. 
Truly  we  live  in  an  age  of  progress.  So  much  has  been  done,  is 
being  done,  and  will  be  done  ;  yet  how  often  when  some  more  daring 
attempts  are  made  to  force  the  hand  of  Nature  is  the  banner  of  Festlna 
lente  displayed  fi  om  her  strongholds.  Yes,  in  the  headlong  rush  of 
life  it  may  be  well  to  pause  at  times  and  “  hasten  slowly,”  for  sleepy 
diseases,  rusts,  blights,  and  all  the  bugbears  of  up-to-date  gardening, 
bear  witness  to  an  inherent  retributive  power  it  is  unwise  to  ignore. 
That  there  is  nothing  new  at  present  under  the  sun  is  a  truism ; 
but  modern  methods  have  provided  new  hosts  for  these  parasitic  pests 
with  endless  trouble  in  combating  them.  Other  illustrations  are  not 
wanting  which  enforce  the  wisdom  of  conforming  to  natural  laws — to 
prompt  a  larger  and  a  livelier  faith  in  Nature,  with  whom — 
“Ten  thousand  years  have  dawned  and  fled, 
And  still  her  magic  is  the  same.” 
—An  Old  Student. 
ORCHARD  FERTILISINO  IN  NOVA  SCOTIA. 
(By  Mr.  Cecil  H.  Hooper,  of  Swanley,  Kent.) 
Farmyard  Manure. — This  is  found  very  beneficial  to  old  neglected 
orchards  requiring  nitrogen,  but  where  trees  run  too  much  to  wood 
and  leaf  with  but  little  fruit,  it  is  found  better  not  to  use  it.  Ten 
tons  of  farmyard  manure  add  roughly  about  120  lbs.  nitrogen,  120  lbs. 
potash,  and  60  lbs.  phosphoric  acid.  It  is  considered  that  as  a  manure 
lor  Apples,  potash  should  be  given  in  addition  to  farmyard  manure. 
Wood  Ashes  are  applied  in  Canada  to  orchard  land  at  the  rate  of 
20  to  40  bushels  per  acre,  being  perhaps  the  best  possible  manure ;  hard 
wood  ashes  are  more  valuable  than  from  Fir  trees.  They  contain, 
when  i.ot  washed  by  ram,  about  5  to  7  per  cent,  potash,  and  2  per 
cent,  phosphoric  acid. 
Bonemeal  and  Muriade  or  Chloride  of  Potash.-^ As  the  supply  of 
farmyard  manure  and  wood  ashes  is  very  limited,  commercial  fertilisers 
are  largely  used.  In  the  Apple  orchards  of  Nova  Scotia  the  two  kinds 
in  most  common  use  are  finely  ground  bonemeal  at  the  rate  of 
5  to  8  cwt.  per  acre,  containinginitrogen  2  to  34  per  cent.,  and  phos¬ 
phoric  acid  22  to  23  per  cent.,  with  muriate  of  potash  1  to  3  cwt.  per 
acre,  containing  about  50  per  cent,  potash.  These  are  mixed  together, 
sown  broadcast,  and  ploughed  in  early  in  spring. 
Nitrate  of  Soda. — This  is  sometimes  used  to  renew  the  vigour  of 
old  Apple  trees  and  to  young  ones  that  are  not  making  satisfactory 
growth,  using  about  1  cwt.  per  acre.  It  is  also  used  to  a  considerable 
extent  for  Strawberries  in  the  U.S.A. 
A  Mixture  for  Small  Fruits. — The  “  Farmers’  Advocate”  recom¬ 
mended  for  small  fruit  (Strawberries,  Raspberries)  in  Nova  Scotia, 
100  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  (  =  15  lbs.  nitrogen) ;  200  lbs.  of  muriate  of 
potash  (  =  100  lbs.  potash);  and  550  lbs.  bonemeal  (  =  16  lbs. 
nitrogen,  and  =  126  lbs.  phosphoric  acid). 
A  Mixture  for  Orchards. — Professor  Frank  J.  Shutt,  M.A.,  chief 
chemist  Dominion  Experimental  Farms,  in  January,  1899,  at  the 
Nova  Scotia  Fruit  Growers’  Association  meeting,  recommended  as 
a  fertiliser  for  Apple  orchards : — 100  lbs.  of  bonemeal  ( =  3  lbs. 
nitrogen,  and  22  lbs.  phosphoric  acid),  100  lbs.  of  superphosphate 
(=15  to  20  lbs.  phosphoric  acid),  and  75  lbs.  muriate  of  potash 
(  =  37  lbs.  potash).  If  kainit  (13  per  cent,  potash)  were  used  instead 
of  muriate  of  potash  (50  per  cent,  potash),  the  equivalent  would  be 
nearly  300  lbs.  of  kainit. 
Composition  of  Leaf  and  Fruit  of  Apple. — Although  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  fertilisers  is  not  entirely  based  on  the  composition  of  the  plant, 
but  is  more  governed  by  the  nature  and  capacity  of  the  plant  to  take 
up  food,  and  by  the  constituents  of  plant  food  most  likely  to  be  needed 
by  the  soil ;  yet  it  is  of  interest,  and  to  some  extent  a  guide,  to  know 
the  composition  of  a  plant.  Professor  Shutt  calculated  that  the  foliage 
on  an  acre  of  Apple  trees,  assuming  forty  trees,  with  50  lbs.  of  leaves 
per  tree  =  2000  lbs.,  their  composition  when  mature,  but  still  green, 
would  be  approximately — nitrogen,  17-74  lbs.  ;  phosphoric  acid, 
3-38  lbs.  ;  potash,  7  84  lbs. 
In  the  fruit  from  trees  twenty-five  years  old,  yielding  160  barrels 
of  140  lbs.  =  22,400  lbs.  or  10  tons  per  acre,  the  chief  elements  of 
fertility  taken  from  the  soil  would  be — nitrogen,  8  9  lbs. phosphoric 
acid,  5-3  lbs.:  potash,  32-8  lbs.  The  leaves  are  returned  to  the  soil, 
but  the  fruit  is  exported. 
A  useful  formula  recommended  for  manuring  orchards  is  : — Good 
rotten  yard  manure,  10  to  15  tons  per  acre;  kainit  (13  per  cent,  potash), 
300  to  700  lbs.,  or  muriate  of  potash  (50  per  cent,  potash),  100  to 
200  lbs. ;  bonemeal  (finely  ground),  100  to  200  lbs.,  or  superphosphate, 
125  to  250  lbs.  It  is  recognised  that  rotation  in  manuring  is  of 
advantage. 
E.  B.  Voorhes,  of  the  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station, 
recommends,  in  order  to  provide  vegetable  matter  and  to  insure  a 
sufficiency  of  lime  as  plant  food,  apply  lime  at  the  rate  of  25  bushels 
per  acre  once  in  five  years.  To  provide  in  addition  an  abundance  of 
all  forms  of  available  plant  food  at  the  times  needed  for  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  tree  and  fruit,  apply  annually  chemical  fertilisers  in  the 
following  proportions : — Nitrate  of  soda,  100  lbs. ;  South  Carolina  rock 
superphosphate,  100  lbs. ;  ground  bone,  200  lbs. ;  muriate  of  potash, 
200  lbs.  He  adds  the  amount  to  be  applied  depends  upon  the  character 
of  the  soil  and  the  kind  of  fruit,  and  the  age  and  vigour  of  the  tree ; 
those  given  mark  the  minimum.  In  a  number  of  the  best  orchards 
the  quantities  applied  are  very  much  larger  than  is  here  indicated, 
and  the  larger  application  is  believed  by  the  growers  to  be  propor¬ 
tionately  profitable. 
Strawberry  and  Small  Fruit  Manure. — The  Bowker  Fertiliser 
Company,  a  large  and  reliable  firm  of  Boston  and  New  York,  and 
from  whom  the  Nova  Scotian  farmers  buy  large  quantities  of  fertilisers, 
make  its  Strawberry  and  small  fruit  manure  with  the  following 
analysis : — Ammonia,  3  per  cent. ;  available  phosphoric  acid,  10  per 
cent. ;  total  phosphoric  acid,  12  per  cent. ;  potash,  K2O,  from  sulphate, 
4  per  cent.  This  fertiliser  has  for  twenty-five  years  produced  most 
satisfactory  results,  containing  a  large  percentage  of  potash  and 
