Graham guardian., 1903-09-04

afterward we find our nurserymen
practicing to escape crown gall
While l was hesitating in my ex-
tremity what to do, as luck would
have it, a very high tide occurred
which damaged several tons of gun
and blasting powder, stored just in
the rear of my place, on low
ground The merchant was about
to have it dumped into the gulf
when volunteered to take 1t off
his hands, which offer he gladly
accepted. l had tried all kinds Of
chemical fertilizers except potash,
and knew that a very large part
of ? over was nitrate of potash, l
concluded to put the whole lot on
my garden and make one more
effort. / remember how it made
the old German laugh to see me
sowing gunpowder for manure, but
in few months when ! had cab
bage and cauIiflower as big as a
water bucket with not sign of
club-root to be seen, they were
umbfounded. The result of this
experiment came as revelation,
1t must be remembered that nitrate
of potash is not only very rich in
potash, but in nitrogen also.
Peruvian guano with high per
centage of nitrogen, but little pot
ash, had only aggravated the dis
ease, so the only conclusion was,
that the potash had wrought the
change. Whether it killed the
club-root bacteria in the sol or
merely enabled the plants to per-
feet healthy sap which could re-
tsist their attack, is the question,
though / believe the latter. From
that time on l applied large guam
titles Of cotton. hull ashes with 35
per cent potash, which the cotton
oil mill was glad to exchange for
sand, load for load, so little WIS
the true value of potash then
known, and ! never again saw q
case Of club-root on my ground,
though | often grew crop of cab
bage, in fall where crop bad be u
grown few months before u
spring. But the true value OF
potash gradually became known
and in few years the mills at first
put price Of SO per ton on ashes
and when it was discovered that
the hulls were too valuable as took
feed, to burn, the price had risen
to $40. i then used either kainit,
the common "German salt" with
about l6 per cent potash, or the
sulphate and muriate potash con
tanning so per cent pure potash.
These articles can be bought Of the
German Kali Company, New York
and whore hardwood ashes can
not be obtained IN large quantities,
fruit growers and nurserymen must
resort to these fertilizers if they
ever expect to eradicate crown
gall.
That healthy young tree or
seed will never develope crown gall
either in the orchard or in the nur-
sery even though planted continu-
ously on the same ground, if some
form of potash is used freely am
perfectly confident, and ] am now
experimenting as to whether a |
healthy young tree will take the
disease if planted at once in hole
from which crown CALLED tree
was taken, provided about
a gallon or so, of strong wood |
ashes is mixed with the soil i'm
mediately around the tree and the
surrounding ground also we'll top
dressed with ashes. Last fall to
my surprise. one of my largest g.
year-old peach trees broke off at
the ground in high wind and on
examining / found that crown
gall as large as goose egg had
eaten nearly through the tree, 1t
was an "Admiral Dewey" and
strange to say the fruit had been
so insipid that had condemned
the variety as worthless. This
season peaches from another and a
healthy Dewey are almost similar
to Triumph and of just as good
quality. Well, in January | cut
the remaining stump out, leaving
all the side roots, and planted a
2-year- old apricot on peach which
l had grown, in the hole, mixed as
stated, about a gallon of strong
ashes with the soil that went into
the hole. The tree has made the
best growth in the yard, with
shoots over four feet high, and the
body under ground and all side
roots as far as | can see, smooth
and clean. As all my fruit trees
have been we'll ashed every year,
it would appear that a tree already !
infected will develop the disease
in spite Of potash. The Dewey
trees were purchased AMI / had re-
jected quite number with very
small gals, but overlooked it on
that tree when planting. | hope
all fruit growers and nurserymen,
those on sandy lands,
Will experiment freely. Sandy
soils are not only naturally detic
lent in potash, but are soonest