The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-06-10
The Ample Orchard.

There is nothing more common than
20 hear farmers IL all the eastern Sec
ton OF the country say 'wc cannot
grow app.cs any more as we once aid"
Now. the climate is not to blame for
his, and If app.cs once grew well with
you is it not worth While TO study the
causc Of thei: failure now?
Men realize that for the growing of
their annual crops they must cultivate
well and keep UP the fertility Of the
soil. They do not try to grow com
same fed. for they know that 1t can.
not be dcrn successfully but when It
! comes to the orchard they assume that
tree eau not only take care of itself
! like the trees in the forest. but that
they can crop the land eor other things
! at the same time and still get crops Of
| nipples. Herein Les the greatest of all
the troubles in apple growing. So long
as the soil was virgin soil and
aboundlng in plant food the trees
throve in spite of neglect but as the,
gradually robbed the soil assisted by
the crops planted among them there
was soon failure. for trees as well as
other crops need plenty of available
plant food in the soil.
Another thing that apple trees cspe.
cially need is an abundance of soil
moisture. 1t is useless to apply fertili-
zers TO any plant if there is not moist.
rrc enough in the soil TO dissolve them
Hence the importance for providing n
soil Astounding In vegetable decay to
retain the moisture needed for the so
lu,lon OF the plant food applied. Few
growers fully realize the amount of
tho various forms of plant food that an
apple orchard takes from the soil. AT
the recent American Apple Growers
Congress In st. Louis Professor Clio.
thier gave some very striking figureg
In this regard which were taken from
the experiments made at the Agricul.
iurnl Experiment Station of Cornell
University. He showed that with an
average yield (and this is Il small one
in good orchardD 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 S2.4j worth of
plant food. Then the growth OF the
wood and the leaves OF the tree must
be taken into account, and it takes o
"cry considerabl amount of food to
keep IN the activity of large tree.
Altogether there was in the orchard q
demand for plant food to n total value
of $9.01 per acre.
Ec compared this with n crop OF corn
making fifty bushels per acre and
shoTed that the corn removed little
more than the fruit trees. md yet every
farmer knows that he cannot expect
fifty bushels o. corn per acre unless he
keeps UP the fertility of the soil. and
yet we see the same men trying to get
apples from n soil that has been drained
by the trees in this WAY for genera.
ton, and not only drained by The trees,
hut called upon to grow a hay crop tr
20 pasture stock. Is it any wonder that
we cannot grow apples as we'll 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 moro potash than crop of
corn Of fifty bushels per acre, and de.
mand 1t 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 Re of great help. not only in fur.
nishng nitrogen but in giving some hu.
mus making matter to the soil. II Kai.
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
he cut for hay, but grass to be cut only |
rs mulch for the trees and left on the |
ground, cutting It several times during |
the season. Then give the grass a top
dressing annually Of fertilizer COM |
posed of 500 pounds OF ncld phosphate. |
500 lounds of cottonsecd meal and 400 |
pounds of murlnte of potash to make |
ton. Use this literally and get q good |
growth OF grass and every time you !,
cut the grass spread IL TO decay un. !
der the trees as far rs the limbs ex- |
tend and little further. Then il you |
attend to the spraying you can grow |
apples Just like you d!d In your boy.
hood ard probably bcttcr.-W. L. Mag !