The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1903-07-02
Tho Apple orchnrn.

Now, the climate is not to blame for
tlls, and II apples once grew well with
you is 1t not worth while to study tle
cause OF their failure now?
len realize that for the GROWING OF
their annual crops they must cultivate
wen and keep up the fertility OF the
soil. They do not try to grow corn
ana wheat at the same time on the
same Held, for they know that it can.
not Dc done successfully, but when it
comes to the orchard they assume that
tree can not only take care of itself
IKE the trees in the forest, but that
they can crop the land for other things
at the same time and still get crops of
apples Herein lies the greatest Of all
the troubles In apple growing. So long
as the soil was q virgin soil and
Astounding In plant food the trees
throve in spite Of neglect. but as they
gradually robbed the soil assisted by
the crops planted among them there
was soon a failure, for trees as well ms
other crops need plenty of available
piuut lOOu IN the soil.
Another thing that apple trees cspe.
cially need is an abundance of soil
moisture. 1t is useless to apply rertili-
2ers to any plant IL there is not moist.
ure enough In the soil to dissolve them.
Hence the Importance for providing a
soil Astounding in vegetable decay to
retain the moisture needed for the so.
tuition of the plant food applied. Few
growers fully realize the amount OF
the various forms of plant food that an
apple orchard takes from the soil. At
the recent American Apple Growers
Congress in st. Louis Professor Clo-
thier gave some very striking figures
In this regard which were taken from
the experiments made at the Agricul-
tural Experiment Station Of Cornell
University. He showed that with an
average yield (and this is a small one
In a good orchard OF 200 bushels per
acre, that this 200 bushels of fruit
would remove from the soil thirteen
pounds OF nitrogen, only one pound Of
phosphoric acid and nineteen pounds
Of potash and the apples alone would
remove from each acre S2,45 worth of
plant food. Then the growth of the
wood and the leaves OF the tree must
be taken into account, and ii takes
very considerable; amount OF food to
keep up thc'actlvity Of a large tree.
Altogether there was in the orchard
demand for plant food to a total value
Of S0.W per acre,
lie compared this with n crop OF corn
making fifty bushels per acre, and
. showed that the corn removed little
more than the fruit trees, End yet every
farmer knows that he cannot expect
fifty bushels Of corn per acre unless he
keeps up the fertility Of the soil, and
yet we see the same men trying to get
apples from a soil that has been drained
by the trees in this way for a genera
ton, and not only drained by The trees,
but called upon to grow hay crop CT
10 pasture stock, Is It any wonder That
we cannot grow apples as well as we
once did?
The statement we have given shows
that the demand for phosphoric acid is
very small as compared With that for
nitrogen and potash, and the trees will
demand more potash than a crop OF
corn Of fifty bushels per acre. and de-
mand it every year, for there can be
no rotation OF crops here. In their
young state, when growth is. what We
want, applications OF stable manure
will be Of great help, not only in fur
nishlng nitrogen but in giving some hui
mus making matter to the soil. II Kal-
nit has been used in the preservation Of
this manure it will not only make the
manure better IN preventing the loss
Of nitrogen, but it will add potash that
is needed. When the trees have
reached maturity we advise the seed.
ing down to grass But not In grass to
be cut for hay, but grass to be cut only
as a mulch for the trees and left on the
ground, cutting 1t several times during
the season. Then give the grass top
dressing annually Of a fertilizer COM
posed Of 500 pounds Of acid phosphate,
500 POUNDS Of cottonseed meal and 400
pounds Of muriate of potash to make
ton. Use this literally aud get a good
growth OF grass and every time you
cut the grass spread 1t to decay I'M
der the trees as far as the limbs OK
tend and q little further. Then If you
attend to the spraying you can grow
apples Just like you did in your boy
hood and probably better.-W. Il. Mas
sey.