The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1896-03-19
ORCHARD AND FARM
The American Farmer Must
Look to His Laurels.
DANGER TO OUR FOREIGN TRADE

DANGER TO OUR FOREIGN TRADE
Strenuous Efforts on the Part OF Other
Countries to Wrest From Us Our
Trade In Meats-Notes.
The prestige Of American meats in
foreign countries, notably England,
can only be maintained through keep.
ing up the quality to the highest stand.
ard of excellence. Cable and mail ad-
vices, month in and month out. TEEN
with news Of the most strenuous efforts
on the part Of other meat producing
countries to wrest from Us this trade.
Nor can the importance of the inroads
made within the past year or two be
ignored. The United States continues
the chief source of supply of Western
Europe, so far as meat products are
concerned, but last years business was
in some directions very disappointing.
Uufair restrictions governing Ameri-
can meats, the result Of jealousy on the
part of foreign agriculturists, have of
course done much to hamper the bust
ness. But in addition, countries in
the Southern hemisphere are making
themselves felt in the worlds markets
In no uncertain manner.
Argentina is annually expanding
hundreds of thousands of dollars for
choice breeding animals, for the direct
purpose of improving the quality of its
herds and fiocks, which in turn seek
an outlet in the markets of Western
Europe. Shipments of live cattle from
Argentina to England have increased
more than five fold in the last two
years. and of sheep nearly fifteen fold,
or from %, 900 head in 1898, to $685..
900 in 1895. Argentina now ranks
second as an exporter of sheep to the
United Kingdom and is distanced in
the cattle trade only by the United
States and Canada. England. the
greatest of all consuming markets, is
closest to this country, and while her
purchases of dressed meats continue
gratifyingly large, our breeders and
feeders must not forget that quality is
an essential to retain the meats trade.
The Best Method of Using Fertilizers.
Extensive tests to answer this ques-
ton have been conducted by the New
Jersey experiment station for several
years. On corn, superphosphate and
potash, singly or in combination, were
most effective in increasing yield, the
benefit of potash being particularly
noticeable. Barnyard manure in six
tests gave largest yield, but its cost, if
based on market prices, rendered it less
profitable than any of the fertilizers
used. On light. sandy loan, nitrogen
proved to be necessary. Oats on soil
of medium fertility were benefited by
a top dressing of phosphoric acid and
nitrogen, the former increasing the
weight per bushel wherever used. Both
these elements proved to be the most
useful on wheat and rye, these three
grains appearing to require little pot.
ash upon these soils.
The results with potatoes throughout
the state confirm numerous tests in
other sections. The complete chemical
fertilizers, containing nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and potash, are more profit
able than either minerals alone or
stable manure. Muriate of potash gave
the largest yield, but sulphate improv-
ed the quality. while nitrogen was es-
pecially useful only on soils Of medium
fertility, or where earliness of crop
was important. With sweet potatoes,
the best and cheapest crops are raised
with chemicals alone, and the use of
chemicals with manure is more salts
factory than stable manure alone, the
latter having an unfavorable effect on
shape and edible quality Of tubers.
In growing tomatoes for the early
market, nitrate of soda was superior to
either barnyard manure or mineral
fertilizers alone, and was but slightly
less effective than complete fertilizers,
while much cheaper. The best plan is
to apply about eighty pounds Of nitrate
at time of setting the plants, and
eighty pounds more three or four weeks
later. Strawberries on soils we'll sup
lied with the mineral elements showed
a large profit from spring top dress
ing of nitrate of soda.
Pruning I'm Winter.
If an orchard has been left unpruned