Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-10-11


served any injury from the use of we'll
made and preserved acid phosphate and
potash as a fertilizer. OF course, acid
is sometimes not well-made, though this
is the exception rather than the rule for
the acid naturally costs the manufac-
turer considerable, and he is not going
to waste any of it if he can avoid it.
In seeding oats we have used a va
riety of drills, and it is desirable that
force feed be used. In ordinary grain
drills, as you probably know, the fer
tilizer and the grain, fall together, but
the stirring of the soil by the hoe prob
ably mixes the two to/a an extent where
very little of the fertilizer and the grain
come directly in contact. OF the single
horse planters we have found several
manufactured in Georgia quite satisfac-
tory Most Of these have two tubes,
and are used chiefly where oats are
sown in the open furrow. It is probable
that there is more admixture of earth
with the fertilizer and the grain where
these drills are used than with the
standard grain drill. You should test
the terminating powersof your oat seed
You probably know that this varies with
varieties from year to year. Some
times poor stands which are attributed
to injury caused by the fertilizer are
due to the terminating quality of the
grain. OF course, we would not desire
to mix the fertilizer and the grain di-
rectly together, but with any of the
drills we have used. we have felt that
enough admixture of soil has always
taken place to make the injury from
the use of acid phosphate and potash
negligible quantity
FERTILIZING PEACH TREES IN AU-
TUMN.
A E. s., Gainesville, Ga. writes:
want a formula for a fertilizer suitable
for fall use around bearing peach trees.
The reason 1 want to apply it now is
because 1 will not have time in the
spring. The trees have made a good
growth this year and neavy crop of
fruit
Ordinarily it would not DE considered
good practice to apply fertilizers to
peach orchard in the fall of the year.
In our judgment this should be done
in the early spring. and possibly a sec
ond application might be made later in
the season. This second application
would only be necessary where orchards
have been bearing vigorously from year
to year. and where the soil is rather
thin. 1t is true, of course, that phos-
phorus and potash compounds are not
soil as those containing nitrogen, and
one can apply these two with much
greater safety in the fall than carriers
Of nitrogen.
Peach trees require rather liberal fer
tilization with phosphorus and potash.
A formula running 5 per cent of phos-
phorus and about 9 per cent of potash
will be all right for lands containing
some loan; on sandy, gravelly lands, it
would be better to use to z per cent
of phosphorus and 10 per cent of potash.
From three to five pounds should be
used per tree, especially on bearing
orchards. If any nitrogen is used in the
fall, it is probable that cotton seed meal
will furnish this in as desirable form
as anything you can use. This is organic
nitrogen, and becomes available in the
soil rather slowly, and on that account
Il is not so likely TO be leached out of
the soil In our judgment it would be
better to defer an application of nitro
gen until the spring when a relatively
high nitrogen and rather low phosphorus
and potash application might be made
early in the growing season. The fer
tilizer should be scattered around the
trees in circle corresponding with the
spread of the top, and should be covered
into the soil.
GROUND LIMESTONE IN THE OR
CHARD.
J. T. P, Mt Airy, Ga. writes; want