Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-11-21
IMPROBABLE FERTILIZING.
Years of Experimenting Show Mega
tive Results.

certain crops from year to year is
one full of interest to the farmer
and fruit grower, and is worthy of
the closest study.
less and foolish for the tiller of the
soil to go ON following out this or
! that system of treatment or culture
for the field or orchard simply be-
cause it may have proven a success
In years gone by or that it was the
way father" did it when he was
on earth. - -. rsTs~mb~~
! There is hardly a single instance
wherein instructions are given to the
orchardist but what plenty of ferti-
cation with good cultivation" is
dwelt upon as the all-important
point, and no doubt were the adj
visers to be asked their reasons for
adding the fertilization chapter to
their instructions not one in ten
could give a specific reason for the
same. 1t is true that soils at times
require certain elements to be added
to their constituents in order to in
sure their fertility, but what they
need, and how much, can only be de-
termined by actual experiment
A careful study of all the condi-
lions governing the particular or
chard or piece of land will be found
necessary before intelligent treat
ment can be given the soil. FIRE.
quently what seems to be the lack
of certain food elements in the soil
will turn out to be nothing more
than the want of cultivation to make
available the stored chemicals which
lie in plenty in the soil.
Fresh air and good drainage are
essential to the thrifty growth of
every plant. and it will be found
often times that these two elements
are sadly lacking in many orchards,
and the bad results following are at
| tributed to want of proper soil
chemicals.
/ An experiment conducted at the
experiment station in Geneva, N. Y,
covering period of y years. on an
orchard so years old, for the pur'
pose of determining the advantage
of added fertilizers to what natural
ly was supposed to be overworked
soil, showed negative results, and tbs
conclusions of this experiment. which
was thorough, were that the worl
and expense was a total loss in 81
far as actual benefit to the orchard
was concerned.
"Fifty-seven years of orcharC
cropping had not reduced the soil
says the report, ito the condition
where 1t needed a complete fertilizer
Leguminous cover crops plowed un
5 der showed beneficial effects. Thi
showed that the orchard was sub
= ieoted to a one-sided wear. 1t need
ed nitrogen or humus. the physica
: condition to be obtained by plowin
: under organic matter.
) Potash for fruits, is the or
; heard throughout the fruit worl'
: and many are misled into its us
. simply for the reason that it is SUI
> posed that the growing of fru
: draws heavily upon this constituent
9 sit is true that the consumptio
. Iof this particular ingredient
> great, and if the soil lacks this In
: portant element, trees are not frui
: full, but it is also apparent that
. many orchard soils potash is mo
; abundant than was former
> thought.
= ut is. not to be concluded, b
cause the experiment showed neg
: tive results on the experiment st
: ton orchard, that the application
9 fertilizers would prove Intellectual
9 all orchards. Since, however. {
. soil in this orchard had been crop
= for so many years and that 1t W
9 an average of the soil of the cou
. try, It is fair to assume that ma
> orchardists throughout the COUNT
3 on account of the cry for more p'
. ash for the SOIL have been sper
. ing money needlessly for fertiliz'
: and receiving no material benefit.
: "The practical application OF I
9 information obtained by the expe
- l..O..4 L. thnt the annie prnWer Shol