Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-05-05

There is one standpoint from which
have never heard the question of manur'
ing apple orchards discussed, and that
is its effect on the keeping qualities OF
the fruit. Any fruit grower knows that
one condition essential to profitable
orcharding is that the land shall be suf.
ficiertly rich to enable the trees 10 make
a good growth annually. Some attain
this end by planting the trees i'll soil
naturally strong and deep; Others, by
working thoroughly into soil of only fair
natural richness heavy dressing of un-
leached ashes and coarsely ground bone,
while there are those who use liberal
applications of barn manure. For the
most part, our New England orchards
have little attention given to their food
needs after they have been well started,
any fertilizer or manure application
made thereafter having special reference
to the grass crops growing under them.
This is where our Nova Scotia competi-
tors are getting to the windward of us,
for many of them manure and cultivate
for their crops of apples rs we do for our
vegetable crops. However strong and
rich our soil in New England may be,
ed upon To the benefit of his apple crop,
from the fact that any tree that has an
opportunity to get richer food than its
neighborS-it may be from the barnyard
located near by, the decaying waste OF
the woodward or the wash from the street
will make a better growth and will
yield more and larger fruit.
While il is generally true that the
application of plant food to our orchards,
with such care in wood trimming and
root pruning as shall check any tendency
to excessive ground growth, will both
increase the quantity of the crop and i'm
prove the size of the fruit, the question
is an important one. How about its
effects on the keeping quality of our
winter fruit? We have a hint from nature
i'm the well known fact that pasture
grown winter apples are better keepers
than are the same varieties when orchard
grown. The cause of this difference
appears To be contained in the fact that
the former are fed almost wholly from
the slowly decOmposing mineral matter
contained in the soil, while the latter are
generally raised on land that some time
since reclamation from its natural wild
ness has had more or less nitrogenous
food added to the native richness. As 1t
is necessary to sacrifice to degree the
extra keeping qualities of pasture grown
fruit to enable us TO increase its size to
the market standard, the question
naturally arises where wisely To draw
the line as to the kind and quantity OF
plant food to be applied.
Ny neighbor, an extensive dealer in
apples. gives me valuable suggestion,
drawn from his practical experiences: Il
think the finest lot of Baldwin apples l
ever purchased got from New Hamp-
shire farmer who practices manuring
his orchard annually with barn manure
as literally as he does any of his hoed
crops. Yes, they We're magnificent
apples; but | lost on them, for the
trouble was they didn't keep worth a
cent. Since then I've steered clear OF
all BARNARD manured orchards" Not
withstanding the sweeping verdict OF
nv neighbOr, | believe there is very
profitable market for fine fruit produced
by that same method, and that is only
our foreign market. The size and color
count for great deal, and, being ship
ped early in the season and attaining
maturity earlier, they would be likely to
be consumed during their keeping
period. =,
Undoubtedly, mineral manure should
be our dependence for all orcharding.
Ashes, being produced from wood, must
be an excellent material from which to
make wood; while bone is an excellent
resource from which to supply the need
ed phosphOric acid and the modicum OF
nitrogen needed. If more of this latter
element is wanted, inverted clover sod
is one of the best sources from which 1t
can be supplied. J. II. Gregory,
Marblehead, Mass.