The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-03-06

time the moisture is one of the eondi
] tions. We viii get more about on tht
4 texture of soils. Trees must have
enough moisture; if they do not have
i enough, they do not make normal
j growth. Ifthey have too much moist
ure they do not attain their natural
growth. Water itself is plant food
j. III. Shoemaker-Do you not think
it would be advisable to irrigate 0ul
trees, our old orchards.
Prof Knisely-If they lack moisture
it certainly would help them. There
are regions | know where a man will
have an orchard, and through the sum.
mer season it dries up and suffers from
drouth very much, and at the same
time another man whose orchard does
not suffer from drouth at all. Both
have the same amount of rain fall. The
orchards am thinking of are in New
York, and some are cultivated thor.
oughly, and others have no cultivation.
Good cultivation In some cases will run
them through the season all right.
i, Il. II. Smith-0rchards bearing q
heavy load of fruit would undoubtedly
be benefited.
J. II. Shoemaker-Thec conditions are
such in some localities that we can
raise clover without irrigation. Where
we can not raise clover without irriga-
tion, if 1t is possible to irrigate, do you
think it would be profitable?
Prof. Knisely-I would try 1t on a
few trees and experiment.
| j. II. Shoemaker-WOuld that take
the place of fertilizer?
Prof. Knisely--If the soil Is deficient
in potash or plant food, it would not
take the place of fertilizer, But ii the
plant food is there, the water conditions
should be made right to take up the
plant food.
j. H. Shoemaker-Would you recon-
mend using land plaster on orchards?
Professor Knisely-It might be help
ful in small way. Land plaster is not
plant food, has no nitrogen, no potash,
no phosphoric acid 1t has the power
Of releasing plant. food already in the
soil. Sevgffssf pounds Of land plas-
ter will liberMe tfle potash already in
the soil, and thusthe tree will feed up
on the potash which the land plaster
has liberated. Ii the tree is lacking
potash and you apply the land plaster,
it will liberate the potash and In that
way benefit the tree At present we are
carrying on some experiments. On one
row we applied land plaster, but as yet
have had no marked result at ALL Land
plaster is especially beneficial to clover.
A. l. Mason-In some parts of the
valley we are troubled with a brown
.xrbfn &c ialr rl,ff in n
Baldwin apple. We haye heard OF var
ious plans to prevent this. Some have
recommended the use of lime.
Prof. Cordley-In regard to the brown
rot or the Baldwin apple spot, as it is
sometimes called, this matter was brought
up in our experiment station, and sew
eral other experiment stations, and no
cause for it has been discovered, nor
any remedy. There have been several
theories, but no satisfactory demonstra-
tion as yet. At Corvallis we sprayed
two out of three trees with Bordeaux
mixture, and the two that were sprayed
were almost entirely free, while the
other tree was badly injured. The Ver-
mont station tried the same experiment
with negative results. No definite in
formation on the subject is obtainable.
Joe Wilson-My next neighbor had
quite number Of Baldwin trees planted
in 1885 which bore l56 boxes OF apples
last year which we're entirely free from
spots When the trees were young the
apples were spotted. He has been using
muriate Of potash.
G. II. Castner-How may we know
when we need potash and phosphoric
acid.
Prof. Knisley--I presume in much the
same way as some physicians do. They
have a sick patient and they start to
doctoring him and try certain remedies
week or two, and then say they have
to change medicines. There is a good
deal OF guess work about it. 1t is easier
on small trees than ON large trees. If
you had strawberry patch and thought
it was not doing its very best, | would
buy about 100 lbs. of nitrate OF soda, 100
lbs. of muriate OF Ibtasilsand 200 lbs. Of
superphosphateA kOr on one row |
would put on little application of nj
trate ofsoda broadcast between the rows I;
on the other row muriate of potash; on
the third row superphosphate, and
would watch those rows that year and
see how they seemed to do, and which
did the best. II that soil lacks nitrogen,
there ought to be a more vigorous
growth where the nitrogen was applied.
In that way you get pretty good idea
On another row put q mixture combin-
ing all three plantfoods, and watch re-
suits and see which does the most good.
That is the best way to find out what
the soil lacks. If that soil is sampled
and sample sent to the station we can
analyze the soil and find a certain
amount of nitrogen, potash and phos-
phoric acid. Now what we want to
know is, whether that plant food is
available for the plant or not. The
chemist does not know. Up to the present
time there is no method OF getting the
available; we can get the total, but it is
hard matter to tell whether it is avail
able plant food or not
Question (Unknown)-I have read
that nitrate Of soda being a stimulant,
that dried blood is preferable to furnish
the element OF nitrogen.
Prof. Knisley-When plants take up
their nitrogen they take it up in the
lOIli VI ltiltdlGos II VIC dpRl1 dNG VI
soda this season, as we put it on the soil
every bit of it is available Immediately.
The probability is that if it is wet time
the plant can feed on it at that time.
III we apply nitrogen in form OF dried
blood there is not much OF it in the form
Of nitrate There is a process going on
in the soil called nitrifcation. The
effect will be that the fertilizer will last
a longer time than in the form Of nitrate
of soda.
Question-Would dried blood have a
tendency to leach.
Prof Knisley-Nitrogen in the soil
does not leach very much until it be-
comes nitrate.
E. L. Smith-In plowing under a crop
of luguminous plant food, how long
would it take for the nitrate to leach out.
Prof. KnisIey-Nltrogen when plowed
under will decay very rapidly. 1t de-
pends on the condition Of the soil; il
loose and well watered the process will
90 on very rapidly Ifthe soil is very
heavy and damp, it might take a long
time for it TO go to pieces and change
into nitrates.
+. P. Friday have an orchard one
year old, and now have crop OF pota-
toes on IL. Will it take ANYTHING from