Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-08-16


period but not to prolong its growth
too late in the season, and If too much
nitrate is used It has a tendency TO pro-
duce more stalk and less corn than is
really desirable. Corn should not be laid
by if possible until the ear is virtually
matured. Tins means that you will prob
ably have to put a muzzle on your mule
and use a one-horse cultivator for at
least the last two civilizations. When
the corn is silking and tasseling is a
vital matter in the life history of the
crop, and it is important to maintin a
dust mulch to hold moisture IN the soI
and preserve what falls as rain, and also
to keep weeds and trash in check. " nile
as late cultivation as suggested is not
absolutely necessary, - will be found par
ticularly beneficial in dry seasons.
Cotton-seed meal, acid phosphate and
kainit mixed in equal proportions and
used at the rate of 80 pounds per acre
does not make an altogether satisfactory
ration for either corn or cotton as 1t
would likely contain something less than
2 per cent of nitrogen. per cent of phos-
phoric acid and per cent of potash.
We should say that this formula was low
in nitrogen and in phosphoric acid for
most soils. Tie use of 200 pounds of the
formula suggested will of course help
soil. but as rule, potash and phosphor-
ic acid had best be put in the soil at the
time of planting the crop so as to enable
their more complete assimilation. When
you get ready to mix your fertilizer next
spring If you will drop us a line ana
tell us what you desire to use and what
crops you expect to plant and some
thing about the nature of the soil, we
will be glad to give you suggestions
along this line.
CAUSES OF ORCHARD FAILURES.
A correspondent writes: have read
an article to the effect that the famous
apple orchards of Washington and Ore
gon will not yield as abundantly in the
next few years as they have in the past
Why is this, and do you think this same
condition will exist in Georgia after
short bearing period?
1t is not surprising that there should
be some question as to the continued
fruitfulness Of western orchards under
conditions Of production that pertain
there. By means of the irrigation sys-
tenn practiced, the trees are forced to
produce an abundance of fruit, and the
supply of a large amount of moisture
in the soil throughout the growing sea-
son tends to dissolve out and carry to
the roots of the trees an unusual
amount of available plant food. The
tendency is to exhaust the soil and to
overstimulate the tree. 1t does not seem
to me that this is a hard thing to I'M
derstand. 1t appears that horse bred
for speed can sustain his powers oI en-
durance for about so long; his service
on the track may be spread over sew
eral years, or he may be broken down
rather quickly. This it seems to me, is
about the condition which is likely to
prevail in many apple orchards. 1t was
thought that the lands OF the Red River
valley of the north and in some sections
of the Mississippi delta could never be
exhausted, but we know that hundreds
of thousands of good American citi-
zens are going over into Canada to get
fresh virgin soil on which to grow
wheat, because the yield in the Dako-
tas has in many instances decreased
from 40 to 10 or Is bushels per acre.
The constant production Of heavy crops
without the return of some fertilizlng
material to the soil will tend to exhaust
IT.
Under natural conditions Of moisture
and food supply such as prevail in the
apple growing region or north Georgia,
the tremendous yields recorded in the
west may not be so frequently report
ed, but the chances are strongly in IA
vor of this section of the Union and
long continued production, provided our
apple growers return to the soil a fair
amount Of nitrogen, and particularly
phosphoric acid and potash. Whert
fruits are gown under irrigation it was
thought for a long time that fertiliza-
ton would not be necessary, as it was
expected that the irrigation waters,
particularly where they are taken from
streams that carry some sediment,
would supply the needed mineral ele-
ments of plant food. II is now pretty
we'll known that even in the citrus
growing regions fertilization Will be
necessary to at all maintain yields
which are likely to insure the owners
of these orchards a substantial profit.
Personally, the writer has the great
est possible faith in north Georgia as
an APPLE growing section and thinks
this is well-founded, and sees no rea-
son why there should be any hesitation
in investing in these lands or to plant
out orchards, provided the right va
rieties are selected, proper locations Sc
cured, and the orchard given that skill
full care and management which alone
can insure their maintenance on a prof
table basis through a series of years.