The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-08-01

August. II Will De lOuuu Judl CuSoS
brown heads, late in the season, have
many seeds in them. From all this
coupled with our experience we con-
clude that red clover is valuable le-
gume to grow in our orchards.
| may say before closing this mat
ter that the Importance of this re-
newing of the nitrogen in our orchards
can hardly be over-estimated. A fruit
grower came to me few years since
and said that his best bearing apple
trees seemed to be losing their vigor.
He wanted to know the cause and
what is the remedy. | questioned him
somewhat on this matter, and found
that near the main laterals in his or
chard his trees were still as vigorous
as ever. He attributed this continued
vigor to the better supply of water
along the laterals. I asked him II any
thing grew along the laterals and he
informed me that alfalfa had sprung
UP along the head bitches and was
spreading out among his trees. Here
was the solution of this decrease of
vigor in his APPLE trees: The nitrogen
was becoming exhausted, but the pes
tiferous alfalfa, as he called it, was
restoring this exhausted ingredient.
My advice was to SOW some legume
among all his older trees. Many other
illustrations like this could be given.
We must restore the lost nitrogen,
or suffer seriously as the consequence.
We can buy Chill Saltpeter," which
is nothing but nitrate of soda, and
SOW it literally in our orchards, and
this will bring back the lost vlgor to
the trees. We can use liberal sup
ply of barnyard manure and get the
same results. Or we can buy guano,
which is rich in nitrogen. But all
these things are expensive, especially
the nitrate of soda and guano. But
that which is by far the cheapest and
most permanent is to SOW the legumes
in our orchards and let the millions
of minute organisms gather the nitro
gen from the air which is nearly four
fifths nitrogen, and they will do the
work for nothing and board them
selves.
A very vital question to- the apple
growers is the prospect of the crop.
Will it be large, medium or small?
The Horticultural Editor of the Ranch
is carefully studying the reports and
purposes giving our readers the true
conditions as far as they can be as
certained. The Fruit Trade Journal of
New York, after some statements from
the apple dealers, makes the follow
ing very sensible statement:
"While the above comes from the
viewpoint of the operator, it will be
interesting to the growers, as indi-
eating the game as it is viewed from
the standpoint of the other fellow.
Of course, when the International
Apple Shippers Convention meets at
Buffalo, on August 8, the reports OBJ
tanned by their members will be gone
over and estimates given. The Grow
ers' Congress will subsequently meet
and give out reports which are fire.
quently in very great conflict there
with, it always being the purpose of
the buyers to get their fruit as cheap
as they can and of the growers to get
all that they can possibly secure for
their fruit, but it does not appear with
the present outlook that prices will
open very high this year, though if
the crop turns out to be smaller than
is anticipated and the operators get
too anxious for supplies, it may be
that they will pay higher prices than
the season warrants and that they will
get some more of the medicine they
received during the season of year
ago. One old dealer remarked to a
Journal representative in discussing
the matter that if it turned out to be
a small crop year, it would be almost
sure to be a bad year for the apple
spectators"
This clipping gives very clear
presentation of the contest between
the annie BUYERS and growers. The