The herald., 1896-12-26


of experiments that am now trying. 1
do not forget what Prof. Hilgard wisely
says in Gpeaking of all such tests, that
zone swallow does not make a summer
However, let us see how the authori-
ties would bear out this theory that l
have just advanced. In one of the re-
ports of the New York Agricultural Ex-
pertinent station there is chapter on
THE Specific Action of Different Ele-
ments of Plant Food Upon Plants" This
is what it says about the influence OF
nitrogen upon plant growth:
1.-The growth of stems and leaves is
greatly promoted, while that of buds and
flowers is retarded. Ordinarily, most
plants at a certain period of growth
cease to produce new branches and foli-
age. or to increase those already formed,
and commence to produce flowers and
fruits, whereby the species may be per-
petuated. If plant is provided with as
much available nitrogen as it can use
just at the time it begins to flower the
formation of flowers may be checked,
while the activity of growth is transfer
rcd back TO and renewed in stems and
leaves. which take on new vigor ana
multiply with remarkable luxuriance.
Should flowers be produced under these
circumstan they are sterile and pro-
duce no seed" In another chapter this
report says:
Alt eAceSSlNe CROWN OI ledl Ut Stdlk,
accompanied by an imperfect bud, flow
er and fruit development, indicated too
much nitrogen for the potash and phos-
phoric acid present" In the report Of
the United States department of agri-
culture for 1894 at page 1893 is an article
on fertilization from which will quote
one or two extracts:
with oranges, as with many other
agricultural plants, one may fertilize in
a M f1,,
stimulated at the expense of fruit pro-
duction.. A strong nitrogenous fertilizer
results usually in much growth and lit
tie fruit. This seems to be particularly
true if the ammonia is added in an or
ganic form. While trees are young it IS
probably we'll to favor the growth of
wood principally, but at an age of seven
or eight years from the bud, the tree, if
1t has grown properly, will have attained
sufficient size to begin to produce a fair
quantity of fruit. 1t should then be
given a slightly modified fertilizer, con-
tanning more potash and phosphoric acid
and less nitrogen, to stimulate fruit pro-
duction as much as possible" Again,
still quoting from the same authority:
Probably no element of plant food
used in the fertilization of orange groves
should be more carefully considered.
With respect both to form and quantity,
than nitrogen. 1t is the most costly and
at the same time the most dangerous
element to use, as excessive applications
are liable to result in extensive dropping
and splitting of fruit" So much for the
relation of nitrogen to the dropping of
oranges. and, to speak moderately, there
is certainly nothing here to support tho
idea that nitrogen is the element we
should use to overcome that evil. Now.
turning to the same two reports, let us
consider what is said of potash with re-
n tn hi ~, Il.
The New York report says:
Potassium compounds are important
on account of their influence upon the
development of woody parts of stems
and the fieshy portions of fruit" And
again: "The development of the woody
parts of plants and the fieshy+portions of
fruits, seems to be largely dependent on
the influence of potassium compounds"
The agricultural report says: "TEe
noticeable effect of potash on the orange
tree appears to be it's aid, in completing
and maturing the wood. Apparently an
insufficient amount of potash Is shown
by an excessive growth of weak, imma-
ture wood, which does not harden up as
winter approaches, and is liable to be
injured by frost"
/ will leave 1t to you to say to what
degree these authorities confirm the
theory l have advanced; remarlking only
that if it is the office of potash to COM
plete and mature the woody parts of
stems may we not hope that by proper
and intelligent combination of it in our
fertilizers we may complete and ma
ture" the stems that hold the fruit, and
thus give them sufficient strength to
hold the fruit after it has been formed
lnaSmuch as muriate of potash con-
tains chlorine, it is not desirable form
in which to use it. 1t is however, very
generally used in commercial fertiliz ars
because it is cheap. You should insist
when you buy commercial fertilizer
that the potash it contains is in the form
Of sulphate of potash.
You probably have seen DIR. Wood
bridges recommendations for test plots,
and his plans for their arrangement; he
has issued them in pamphlet form. He
induced me, in 1893, to arrange a set of
plots in accordance with these recon-
mendations. He supplied the different
fertilizing Ingredients and came up from
Los Angeles himself to superintend the
arrangement of the plots and to make
the first application of the fertilizer. AS
laid off they consisted, of a group If
eleven plots, each plot containing ten
orange trees. These ten orange trees
were in two rows, and five trees in a row.
You will please notice this arrangement,
because the fact that these plots con-
tanned only two rows of trees each has
suits. On plot No. 1 we applied barn
yard manure; on the second, nothing:
on the third we used nitrogen in the
form of nitrate of soda; plot No. we fer
tilized with phosphoric acid. for which
we used superphosphate with bone as
a base: plot No. was fertilized with
potash. So far you will notice that we
have used the three principal ingredi-
ents of any fertilizer. singly; that Is,
each ingredient by itself. On the next
plots we used combinations of these:
First, nitrogen and phosphoric acid; Oh
the next We used nitrogen and potash;
on the next phosphoric acid and potash,
and on the last nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash, making complete ferttl
izer.
At the end of the first year, when DR..
Woodbridge came up to inspect the re-
suits, he was disappointed that they
were not more pronounced. In fact, it
seemed as If there was as much differ
ence to be noticed between trees of the
same group as between trees of adjoin-
ing groups, and he recommended that
the next time the fertilizers were applied
we Should. double the dose, which was
done.
1t is quite evident that the reason we
did not get more pronounced results the
first year was because we had applied
these fertilizers on a virgin soil which,
in all probability, was full Of plant food.
What we should have done in that re-
gard was to have chosen the very poor
est soil We could find instead of choosing
the best.
At the end of the second year quite a
noticeable difference could be seen in
the fruit on the different plots. The best
fruit by all odds was produced, Where we