Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-05-19

am no chemist. My knowledge of
| fruit culture and the manures suitable
| thereto is purely empirical or, as we
like to say, practical. writes o. w.
Blaclnall in the Connecticut Farmer.
1t Is founded on the careful experiments
and observations of nearly twenty-one
years. Long before | knew anything
about the properties of plant food no.
tced that some fruit trees and grape
vines on the place bore abunduntly of
fine fruit. while others bore none or had
the fruit TO rot on the trees This puz-
zled me a good deal. for there was APP
parently little difference in the quality
OF the soil. all OF IL being fairly good,
and the other conditions seemed the
same. After some years discovered
what made the difference The trees
that bore the best fruit, the most Of
II, and rarely failed. were the trees that
were from choice well supplied with pot
ash. This set me to thinking and in
curing. They told me that kalnlt was
the great and economical source OF pot
ash. | bought II and applied It tenta-
lively to peaches. apples ana grapes:
first to only a few trees at the rate OF
two or three hundred pounds to the
acre, which amount ! have since much
increased. on sandy soil | lind that
II is needed in larger quantities than
elsewhere, though IL pays well on the
use from 800 to 800 pounds per acre,
with three hundred pounds ground
bone, 1 am a great believer In kainlt
for fruit, not only MS n manure but as
n preventive OF disease and destructive
insects. while It can not take the
place OF spraying for peaches and
grapes II gives the trees and vines so
much. vigor as to enable them largely
to resist the tendency to disease which
often lays them open to the attack OF
parasites.
There is peach orchard here which
eNoentin~ in the Eront freeze OF 1885,
has not in many years failed to bear
quantitlos Of the most superb Amsden
June peaches: while other oreha ris fall
two years out Of three, that has hit
every year with the one exception nam
ed. The owner Is believer in feeding
his trees as well and carefully as his
stock He uses ground bone and kalnlt
freely, but no ammonia except occas-
ionally turning under crop of cow
pea vines.
For eleven years I have been largely
engaged In strawberry culture, having
now In about seventy-five acres. Here
use the dissolved bone instead of bone
dust, as the former Ia quicker I'm its
action us suits the needs OF this crop.
I find that 600 to 700 pounds per acre
pays me well. KANT or muriate Of pot
uAn 1 una even more necessary on
strawberries, bleckberros and rasp-
berries. II not only makes large and
flne crops OF berries, but also lessons
the tendency to rust and blight. on
some lots could not plant Strawberries
at all for the ravages of white grub
did I not use kainit regularly. II drives
them away and also the cut worm.
which Is sometimes ruinous pest
use coo to 500 pounds iainit or 800 to 500
pounds muriaie Of potash per acre.
with 600 pounds dissolved bone. and 200
TO 500 pounds nitrate Of soda or 400 TO
500 pounds of cottonseed meal IN place
OF the nitrate / apply half broadcast
before crop Is planted half the remain-
der In November, as top dressing over
plants, and the rest In the same way
the following March
I find the potash in the kalnit and
muriatr OF potash rot only valuable.
but Indispensable. II not only makes
heavy crops of berries. but Elvos my
plants-of which sell millions annual
ly-- a vlgor and stockiness not to be
had otherwise.