FERTILIZERS 
 
 FOR FRUIT 
 GROWERS 
 
 BY Dr. E. B. VGQRHEES 
 
 t| V I Vf j C f V f, I r II III , 
 
 DIRECTOR N. J. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 ISSUED BY THE 
 
 NEW JERSEY STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCJETY 
 
Fertilizers lor Fruit Growers 
 
 .... By.... 
 
 Dr. E. B. Voorhccs 
 
 Director N. J. Agricultural Experiment Station 
 
 This is a day of new things. We are not satisfied that we 
 are making proper progress, unless we have some new fad or 
 fancy to occupy our attention ; some specific which will cure 
 all ills. I am afraid, therefore, that I shall disappoint those 
 who are expecting some new revelations in reference to fertil¬ 
 izers for fruits. My experience and observations teach me 
 that while we are following the new we sometimes neglect the 
 old and tried to our disadvantage. I, therefore, wish in the 
 beginning to disabuse your minds of the hope of hearing of 
 some startling discovery, for I am going to confine myself very 
 largely to emphasizing the facts and principles that have been 
 tried and established. 
 
 In the first place, I feel that fruit growers, like dairymen, 
 should be classified into groups, in order that we may not be 
 misled in believing that all persons who grow fruit are fruit 
 growers in the best sense, and thus capable of using the in¬ 
 formation given in a way that would be helpful. 
 
 In the first group I would include those who make fruit 
 growing their primary business, who before beginning their 
 work study the question of soils, of drainage, of varieties, 
 of methods of planting and handling orchards, and of markets, 
 in order that they may know, or may have full knowledge of 
 the best things, and when they have started their orchards they 
 take pains to get as much up-to-date information as possible 
 concerning insects and diseases, and their methods of treat¬ 
 ment. They know that knowledge of principles and of best 
 methods of practice pays, and they feel that without using 
 their best intelligence in the various processes that fruit grow¬ 
 ing, like any other line of business, cannot be made the suc¬ 
 cess that present conditions warrant. Their time and energies 
 are devoted exclusively to fruit growing in its various phases. 
 It occupies the first place in their thought and work. All 
 
other lines of work are subsidiary, and are made to contribute 
 to their success and profit as fruit growers. The members of 
 this group are not a great number, though I think we have as 
 large a proportion of them in this State as in any other. They 
 are a progressive and, as a rule, a successful body of men. 
 Their work is, or should be, an incentive and an inspiration, 
 particularly to young men who are about to engage in their 
 life-work. 
 
 In the second group are included those who, while in 
 many cases successful, do not give their whole time to the 
 growing of fruit. They are not so sure of their ground as 
 those in the first group. They have not the courage of their 
 convictions, and are thus unwilling to devote their whole time 
 to this one branch of farming. Hence they have several lines 
 going at the same time; their interests are divided, and be¬ 
 cause they do not know which line is going to be the best in 
 any one year, all are neglected to some extent. For example, 
 they may find that at the time their orchards ought to be cul¬ 
 tivated, other crops ought to be put in—if both are not done at 
 the right time, one or the other suffers. In such a case, no one 
 line can receive the best attention at the time it should be 
 given. Besides, with several lines the time for study that is 
 necessary to enable the grower to perfect himself in the best 
 methods of practice, is not sufficient to cover all. Therefore, 
 no one subject is thoroughly mastered. I do not wish to be 
 understood, however, as saying that it is not possible, and per¬ 
 haps in a large number of instances quite as profitable for a 
 man to divide his energies, inasmuch as in many instances his 
 location or character of soil does not make it possible for him 
 to utilize all of his land for fruit growing. 
 
 The main point which I desire to impress is, that because 
 of the attention that must nowadays be given to make a suc¬ 
 cess in fruit growing, the grower cannot afford to attempt too 
 many things. It is, after all, knowledge of what and how to 
 do that measures his success. 
 
 There is a third group, who grow fruit, and are often¬ 
 times classified as fruit growers, because their product gets in¬ 
 to the market, who have no intelligent understanding of the 
 business, but whose products have a wide influence in deter¬ 
 mining the returns that shall be received for the product of 
 others. I refer to the large number who have a few trees of 
 apples or pears, or who set an orchard of peaches, because 
 some one season prices have been high, with the hope that 
 
somehow or other he will get a paying crop. There is no set 
 purpose to make themselves familiar with the business. These 
 growers do not know very much about varieties, they know 
 less about handling their trees, and still less about insects and 
 diseases, and their product is very often, though not always, 
 poor, and it goes into the market ungraded, and in seasons of 
 plenty helps to depress the value of the product of the good 
 growers. There is no good reason why the fruit grown in this 
 way should not be taken care of quite as well as that grown by 
 those possessing larger areas, and thus contribute to the up¬ 
 lift of the industry rather than to help to depress it It is for 
 these reasons a difficult matter to give suggestions that will be 
 useful or can be made practicable for all. The best that one can 
 do is to define as clearly as may be the underlying principles 
 which are involved in the growing of different classes of fruits. 
 
 I must admit that we have a great mass of undigested 
 knowledge in reference to the whole matter, and that one great 
 difficulty is that so many of us have such an incomplete knowl¬ 
 edge of any specific portion of it. The controversies that are 
 so frequent in our agricultural and horticultural papers in ref¬ 
 erence to soils, manures, cultivation, varieties, etc., are as a 
 rule due to the fact that we see but one side of the question, or 
 in many instances but one part of a side of the whole question. 
 Statements are true on both sides, but because we do not know 
 or cannot get the point of view of the other fellow, unfruitful 
 discussions are indulged in and result in nothing. 
 
 Take the question of soils, and we find that these vary so 
 widely in their characteristics as to make it possible to grow 
 the very best kinds of fruit on one and the very poorest on an¬ 
 other, with exactly the same treatment as far as cultivation, 
 fertilization, manuring, trimming, and other factors are con¬ 
 cerned. The same is true largely in the matter of manuring 
 or fertilizing. Conditions are so variable that what one grower 
 would regard as a manure might be of no service whatever to 
 another. It is, therefore, a question of incomplete understand¬ 
 ing of all of the principles that are involved. 
 
 Take the question of manures, and how often do we hear 
 that this one followed a certain line of practice and it resulted 
 in the production of the very best yield and quality of fruit. 
 Another, using identically the same, reports that the results 
 obtained are of no value. The reason for this is because con¬ 
 ditions differ and their understanding of how to apply the prin¬ 
 ciple, very defective. 
 
It is my judgment that, aside from special instances and 
 special crops, the whole manure question rests chiefly upon 
 minerals and water. You say, what has water to do with 
 manuring orchards? Why should it be regarded at all in con¬ 
 nection with the subject of manures? I answer, in a broad 
 sense, that anything that will contribute to the production of a 
 crop, or makes it better than it otherwise would be, is a ma¬ 
 nure. The original meaning of the term “manure” has refer¬ 
 ence to the working'of the soil, and from that we get the adage, 
 “tillage is manure.” Now, tillage in its best sense means mak¬ 
 ing available dormant plant-food and the conserving of 
 moisture, not the killing of weeds; the best tillage, therefore, 
 will result in the best natural manuring. 
 
 It is manifest, however, that this cannot apply equally 
 everywhere, on all kinds of soil, or in all locations, but it has 
 its bearing, and a very important one, upon the question of 
 the best production. One of the earliest investigators of the 
 subject of manures believed that tillage was manure, because 
 tillage resulted in making the particles of soil so fine that the 
 roots of plants could absorb them directly. His conclusion 
 was wrong, in the sense that he believed that the plants ab¬ 
 sorbed the particles, but it was right in the sense that he be¬ 
 lieved that extra tillage resulted in an increase in crop. Til¬ 
 lage was manure, not because it resulted in enabling the 
 plants to absorb directly the finer particles of soil, but because 
 it made them so fine as to enable the plants to readily dissolve 
 them, and the better tillage enabled the soil to hold a larger 
 proportion of water. When, therefore, I say that I believe 
 minerals and water are the substances of greatest importance 
 to fruit growers, I have reference to those soils which possess 
 in their original character an abundance of the minerals which 
 are essential for the growth of all crops, namely, phosphorus, 
 potassium and lime, but do not wish to have it understood that 
 in any case is it unnecessary that nitrogen should be a com¬ 
 ponent part of manures. 
 
 In the next place, an indefinite knowledge of the func¬ 
 tions of manures results oftentimes in reducing ultimately the 
 productivity of soils. That is, reducing their fertility beyond 
 the degree to which they would naturally be depleted. In 
 these days of the concentration of energies, we must under¬ 
 stand all of the phases of the question, if we are to make gen¬ 
 uine progress. 
 
 Nine farmers out of ten, even to-day, will tell you that 
 
they would prefer yard manure to any other kind, and yet 
 probably not eight out of the nine could tell you the reason 
 why it is so useful a product. They do not know that in ad¬ 
 dition to its contributing directly to the content of essential 
 plant food elements in the soil that indirectly it improves its 
 physical character, makes it more absorbent of moisture, and 
 contributes to the development of organisms which are so 
 active in converting both nitrogen and minerals into active 
 forms. It is a general form, and, therefore, its use without 
 specific knowledge as to its functions results favorably in the 
 case of most farm crops, and may result in injury rather than 
 in benefit when applied to specific crops upon specific kinds 
 of soil. That is, while yard manure is one of the most gen¬ 
 erally useful of manures, because it is a manure in its broadest 
 sense, and its continuous use in proper quantities will result 
 in keeping up the soil to its full natural capacity, greater care 
 is required in its use in orchards than any other one kind of 
 manure. It must be used in conjunction with other amend¬ 
 ments, and with direct plant-food in other forms, if we are to 
 give to the fruits the kind and quality of food they need, and 
 have them available at the time that the plant requires them 
 and in the greatest amounts. 
 
 This may be true also in many instances of fertilizers or 
 manures for other crops, yet it should be emphasized more 
 fully in the matter of fruits, because they differ not only in 
 their habits of growth, but in the character and composition 
 of the crops themselves. For example, general farm crops, 
 with few exceptions, require but one year for the entire pro¬ 
 cesses of vegetation and of ripening Fruit crops, on the other 
 hand, as a rule require a preparatory period of growth before 
 the crop is produced, and this period is longer or shorter, ac¬ 
 cording to the kind of fruit. 
 
 In the next place, the character of fruit differs from that 
 of general farm rops, because after the period of fruit bearing 
 begins the vegetative forces do not cease, but go on while the 
 growth and ripening of the fruit is in progress. The crop 
 itself also differs materially in its character from vegetables or 
 other farm crops, which reach their maturity in one reason, 
 because for many kinds nearly a whole season is required for 
 the growth and development of the fruit itself. Fruit grow¬ 
 ing also differs from other lines of farming in the sense that 
 it is really a continuous cropping of the same kind, and no 
 opportunity is afforded to correct the tendency to exhaust the 
 
soil by frequent change of crops, which may require different 
 kinds and amounts of plant-food constituents. These are the 
 essential points of difference between farm crops and fruit 
 crops, and because of these marked differences, character of 
 soil becomes an important consideration. Sometimes I think 
 that fruit growers are guided in their methods of management 
 of their orchards by nature’s management of forests ; they see 
 the forests start and grow without any particular attention, 
 and argue, if not in so many words, by their actions, that the 
 same treatment ought to work in fruit growing. Their trees 
 are planted, and then they are left to nature’s care, unculti¬ 
 vated, unmanured and untrimmed, and they become yellow 
 and knotty and thoroughly unthrifty. They do not seem to 
 realize that an orchard for fruit growing is an artificial, and 
 not a natural, crop, and cannot survive under natural condi¬ 
 tions any more than can wheat or corn. It is not according 
 to the general laws of nature that fruit should grow and pro¬ 
 duce abundantly without special care and management. They 
 observe, too, in many instances, that fruit trees grow, develop 
 and produce good fruits without a great deal of fertilizing or 
 manuring upon some soils, and argue that what is true of one 
 orchard should be true of another, and hence there is a very 
 wide difference in the results obtained from orchards planted 
 on different kinds of soil. Naturally good soils, that is, soils 
 well supplied with the minerals of the right sort, as those de¬ 
 rived from limestone, granite or trap, or mixtures of one or 
 more, will produce large, vigorous trees, and produce good 
 fruit without a great deal of care, provided they are so located 
 as to have good natural drainage, and at the same time to 
 have moisture within reasonable distance of the surface. The 
 almost perfect natural conditions, however, do not prevail 
 largely throughout this or any other State, though full advan¬ 
 tage is not taken of all such locations. For certain kinds of 
 fruit, however, soils which originally are very poor may be 
 made excellent for the growth of fruits. 
 
 In other words, the original soil .s a very important con¬ 
 tributing factor, and it does not follow that crops grown well 
 on one will grow well on another. This, of course, is not im¬ 
 portant, except as leading up to the question of cultivation, 
 manuring and fertilization, because all of these are more im¬ 
 portant in one case than in the other. Given a good soil, or 
 one which possesses the valuable characteristics mentioned, 
 and you will readily see that while fruit trees cannot grow 
 
and bear abundantly without nitrogen, the chief consideration 
 is minerals and water ; minerals to supply those necessary to 
 form the basis of acids which exist in the fruits themselves, 
 as well as to support and strengthen the fibre of the roots, 
 stems and branches, while nitrogen, because not required in so 
 large amounts, and because in many cases it can be obtained 
 indirectly ; and because, in the third place, if existing in too 
 large amounts and in too readily available forms, may contri¬ 
 bute to the undue development of leaf and branch, is not so im¬ 
 portant from the standpoint of actual supplies of plant-food. I 
 do not wish to be understood as saying, however, that nitrogen 
 is not an important factor in manv instances, but when the rela¬ 
 tion of tree to soil is considered, it is rather then the mineral 
 than the organic supplies of food that must be most carefully 
 considered. Neither does it follow that the fertilization or 
 manuring, or treatment of any sort, which is the best for apples 
 or pears must necessarily be the best for peaches, or plums, or 
 cherries, or for strawberries, or gooseberries, or blackberries. 
 All of these various kinds of fruit possess different character¬ 
 istics, which renders it necessary that they should have a dif¬ 
 ferent habitat, and that the resu ts of artificial treatments 
 should be variable. It is manifestly impossible, too, to include 
 all berry and fruit crops in one .general group, though pos¬ 
 sessing many points of resemblance. The different ones vary¬ 
 ing more or less in their character; trees of certain fruits are 
 long-lived ; others are short-lived. In some of them the crop¬ 
 ping period is short—the fruit ripens early and at once, while 
 in others the ripening period extends through a considerable 
 period. While similar recommendations may be made in 
 many cases, it is desirable that each class should be consid¬ 
 ered separately, and that distinctions should be made between 
 what may be regarded as good soils, medium soils and poor 
 soils, in respect to their content of plant-food. Those forms 
 of plant-food which decay and give up their constituents 
 slowly are perhaps quite as good, if not better, for many kinds 
 of fruit than those which by their solubility and availability 
 are more stimulating in their character. Those fertilizers 
 which do not contribute to the immediate feeding of the tree 
 or plant, but which add to the reserves of potential plant food 
 should, however, in many cases be supplemented by those 
 which act more quickly, in order to supply an abundance of 
 available food at special times and seasons. I believe, there¬ 
 fore, that a bas ; c formula, the chief claim of which is that it 
 
furnishes large amounts rather than special proportions or 
 forms of plant-food, may be more reasonably adopted for fruits 
 and berries than for other crops. It may be applied with ad¬ 
 vantage to all of the fruits, and the specific kinds which have 
 a special influence upon quality, or size, or earliness, may be 
 adjusted in their application to meet the requirements of the 
 different kinds of fruit on the different kinds of soil. 
 
 A careful study of such experiments as have been con¬ 
 ducted with fruits here and elsewhere leads me to believe that 
 aformula made up of one-third, by weight, of ground bone, acid 
 phosphate and muriate of potash would serve an excellent pur¬ 
 pose as a basic formula for the preparatory treatment of all 
 kinds of soils for all kinds of fruit. There are several reasons 
 for this. The first is because such a mixture could do no 
 harm in any case; second, it adds direct plant-food to the soil, 
 and of the kind liable to be needed in all cases; third, the 
 constituent elements are not so quickly available as to cause 
 an undue stimulation of tree, on any kind of soil; besides, in¬ 
 asmuch as it is a formula which supplies chiefly of the minerals, 
 there is practically no danger of any loss of plant-food from 
 the soil; fourth, since it is quantity rather than quality which 
 we are considering, the amounts applied can be readily adjusted 
 to meet what is believed to be the deficiencies of the various 
 classes of soils. This formula meets in a superlative degree 
 the requirements of such long-lived fruits as apples and pears, 
 and may contribute to the vigor and longer life of peaches, 
 plums, berries and other small fruits. 
 
 The next question is, when and how much of a basic for¬ 
 mula of this sort should be applied per acre. A mixture of 
 this kind, derived from materials of average composition, 
 would contain approximately : 
 
 Nitrogen. r per cent. 
 
 Phosphoric acid ... 12 “ 
 
 Potash.16 “ 
 
 An annual application of 1000 pounds per acre in the 
 early life of the orchard, and 500 pounds per acre later, would 
 not be excessive, as we must provide for a large annual growth 
 of wood, leaves and fruit, for a long period, and when it is re¬ 
 membered that in an established orchard it is not easy, after 
 it has arrived at the age of fruiting, to get the right kind of 
 fertilizing material into the soil, where it is most needed, the 
 
heavier applications should be made at least during the first 
 five or six years of the growth of the orchard, when it is possible 
 tosuccessfully work the fertilizers into the soil. This may not 
 all be needed then, but will ensure sufficient amounts of the 
 mineral elements to supply all the needs of the crop for many 
 years. Hence, even on good soils care should be taken to 
 abundantly supply the soil with the mineral food, and its ap¬ 
 plication should be such as to enable it to become thoroughly 
 incorporated with the surface layer of soil. Whether the 
 orchard shall be cultivated after it has reached its fruiting 
 stage or not depends, in my judgment, very largely upon 
 whether there is a sufficient abundance of mineral food in that 
 soil for all the needs of the trees after they have arrived at the 
 bearing stage. Cultivation of good soil does make plant-food 
 available, if it originally exists in the soil. Cultivation after¬ 
 ward, upon soils well supplied with the minerals, is not so im¬ 
 portant from the standpoint of supplying available food, as it 
 is from the standpoint of holding in the soil the water that en¬ 
 ables the root to perform its function in acquiring its food. 
 Hence, the question of whether the soil shall be mulcted, or 
 whether it shall be left in sod, hinges practically upon the ques¬ 
 tion of the original food in the soil, and the treatment given it 
 to prevent the escape of moisture. 
 
 The important question next, then, is since this basic for¬ 
 mula is to supply the minerals only, phosphoric acid and 
 potash, together with an occasional application of lime, whe¬ 
 ther there should be some nitrogen applied, particularly for 
 apples and pears. For these crops, I believe that the mixture 
 would contain a sufficient proportion of nitrogen upon good 
 .soils, well supplied with humus. On light soils, the neces¬ 
 sity that the fertilizers shall contain a liberal supply of nitro¬ 
 gen is greater, and is frequently very apparent, in which case 
 it may be applied in organic forms when the land is culti¬ 
 vated, and preferably from those materials which do not decay 
 too rapidly because this will furnish the nitrogen quite as rap¬ 
 idly as it is needed by the tree. In many cases, too, it is possi¬ 
 ble to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the growing of 
 leguminous crops, as crimson clover, cow peas, soy beans, 
 vetches, etc., though when these are used great care should 
 be exercised in their handling, in order that their growth 
 may not interfere with the growth of the tree. 
 
 Always keep in mind that any crop grown in the orchard 
 after the first year or two is grown not for the crop itself, but 
 
because it contributes to the growth of the tree and the ulti¬ 
 mate accomplishment of the purpose—fruit. If cover crops 
 are allowed to remain in the orchard until they mature, they 
 not only absorb food that may be necessary for the growth of 
 the tree and fruit, ut the moisture also, and thus frequently 
 injure rather than improve the crop prospects. However, the 
 application of the basic fertilizer should continue in the 
 orchard, and how much of the special formulas should be used 
 later must be determined by the grower himself. The food 
 applied must be in their more soluble forms, as, for example, 
 nitrates, superphosphates and soluble potash salts, ar.d they 
 should be applied in not too large quantities, and preferably 
 especially the nitrate, early in spring, in order that they may 
 be utilized early, and thus not contribute to late growth, which 
 interferes with the maturity of fruit. 
 
 No definite rules can be laid down as to amounts to be 
 applied, and no suggestion ether than the above, namely, that 
 the moment a tree is hungry that moment loud should be sup¬ 
 plied ; and the evidences of hunger are so apparent in nearly 
 all orchards that I believe that four times as much fertilizer as 
 is now used could be applied with verv great profit. For we 
 must remember that not only is the fertilizer necessary, in 
 order to feed the plant, but that when we supply these needs 
 we contribute to the power of that tree to resist insect and 
 fungous attacks, to outgrow slight injuries, which would re¬ 
 sult in the absence of full nourishment in very materially in¬ 
 juring the fruit prospects. 
 
 I do not wish to be understood as saying that a liberal 
 fertilization of an orchard will prevent disease, parasites and 
 injuries of that nature, but that their effect is not so apparent 
 as when abundant food is supplied. Old orchards that have 
 been partially neglected, fertilized with the basic formula, 
 with judicious trimming and cultivation may bring back, in 
 large part, at least, the vigor and health of the tree. The 
 trouble in most of these cases has been that the growers are 
 either indifferent or ignorant. Their trees have not been fed 
 and therefore have been unable to resist insect and disease at 
 tacks, changes in weather, or untoward conditions, and thus 
 have not the power to assimilate and use the plant-lood that 
 would be possible where best conditions prevail. 
 
 The suggestions thus far have their application more par¬ 
 ticularly to apples and pears, fruits that bear for a long time. 
 In the case of peaches, upon good soils, the necessity lor fer- 
 
tilization is seldom apparent until after the first or second year 
 of growth. On medium and poor soils, the setting of the trees 
 should be preceded by the application of the basic fertilizer 
 referred to at the rate of 600 to 8oo lbs. per acre, and should 
 be followed by the application of the more soluble fertilizers 
 immediately the trees begin to bear. The need of nitrogen .is 
 often very marked, and is shown by the lack of vigor of tree, 
 and soluble nitrates have proved very valuable as a source of 
 this element, since from these the nitrogen may be appropri¬ 
 ated by the roots during the early season, and which, if a suf¬ 
 ficient abundan:e of the minerals is present, enables a normal 
 development of fruit. This fertilizer should be applied early 
 in the season, in order that the food may be appropriated early, 
 and thus prevent an undue development of leaf and branch, 
 and thus not permitting the ripening of the wood before the 
 beginning of the winter. Thus, on poor soils, 100 to 150 lbs. 
 nitrate of soda, 200 of acid phosphate, and 100 of muriate of 
 of potash per acre should be applied early in the season, and 
 carefully worked into the soil, in addition to the amount of 
 the basic formula referred to. In all cases the land should be 
 cultivated, which will thoroughly distribute the fertilizers in 
 the soil. 
 
 These suggestions apply, also, in the case of plums and 
 cherries, though for the latter more frequent liming is de¬ 
 sirable. 
 
 For small fruits in general the same considerations as to 
 the needs for liberal fertilization apply, yet because of their 
 different character of growth, the method of fertilization should 
 be somewhat different. They require a shorter preparatory 
 season, and have a shorter period of bearing life. In respect 
 to their general character they correspond more nearly with 
 the vegetable crops than with the cereal grains, in that they 
 possess a relatively higher market value and a lower fertility 
 value than these, and the period of growth and development 
 of the fruit is much shorter. For these reasons, natural sources 
 of plant-food may be largely ignored in their growth, and the 
 more quickly available (particularly nitrogenous and phos- 
 phatic) materials supplied. 
 
 In the case of the strawberry, the preparatory period of 
 growth of the plant before bearing is but one year, and the 
 crop that may be obtained is largely dependent upon the 
 strength and vigor of plant which has been acquired during 
 this period. Hence it is desirable that the soil in which the 
 
plants are set should be abundantly provided with the mineral 
 elements, particularly with soluble and available phosphoric 
 acid. Hence an application of the basic formula should be 
 made previous to setting the plants and well worked into the 
 soil The applications afterward should contain quickly 
 available plant-food, especially of nitrogen, and should be ap¬ 
 plied early in the season, say a mixture of ioo to 150 lbs. of 
 nitrate of soda, 200 to 300 lbs. acid phosphate and 100 to 150 
 lbs sulphate of potash. These same general considerations 
 apply to the other berries usually grown. 
 
 In all of these suggestions as to artificial fertilization it 
 must be understood that soils should be supplied as abund¬ 
 antly as is possible with decaying vegetable matter, because 
 this humus-forming material contributes both to the improve¬ 
 ment of the physical character of soil and the requirements for 
 food, as well as to the conservation and better distribution of 
 water, the one thing more than any other which controls size 
 and quality of crop. Whether this shall be accomplished by 
 the infrequent use of yard manure, or the judicious cropping 
 with leguminous plants, is largely a matter of conditions. In 
 the first case, it must be remembered that large applications 
 of organic materials to orchards may result in an uneven de¬ 
 velopment of tree and fruit. Whereas, if cover-cropping is 
 practiced, and legumes and other plants grown to supply the 
 vegetable matter, it must not be forgotten that the use of these 
 crops is for the purpose of feeding the tree, and not for the 
 crops themselves, and therefore they should be used with the 
 greatest care. Much injury may be done by the use of cover 
 crops, if they are not either cultivated into the soil or plowed 
 down at just the right time, and it is my observation, especi¬ 
 ally in peach orchards, that it is better that crimson clover, 
 especially, be cultivated into the soil in Spring as early as it 
 would otherwise be cultivated, the benefits being derived from 
 the covering of the crops during the winter, and such organic 
 matter as has been gathered up to the time the land is culti¬ 
 vated. I mention these only insofar as they have a bearing 
 upon the question of fertilizers, and do not give any specific 
 directions for their use. As I stated in the beginning, the 
 sum and substance of fertilizing orchards is very largely a 
 question of supplying an abundance of the minerals, phos¬ 
 phoric acid and potash, and in providing for a sufficiency of 
 water. 
 
The President—The doctor knows what he is talking 
 about, but the last lecture I heard him give cost me seven or 
 eight hundred dollars. It changed my theories on some 
 things entirely, but he convinced me he was right. 
 
 Mr. Collins—I want to ask the doctor a question : I 
 think the doctor mentioned ground bone as one of the con¬ 
 stituents ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Yes. 
 
 Mr. Collins—Why do you recommend bone instead of 
 ground phosphate rock ; is it better ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Not necessarily; in some you may find 
 that you will get your phosphate quickly, but in the long run 
 bone is more active and is preferable. If you put on ground 
 phosphate, and put a large quantity on, and have abundance 
 of organic matter in the soil, it will probably give you good 
 returns. It is a question of conditions. If you can buy 
 ground phosphate at a low enough price to enable you to get 
 some return immediately, or where you had used leguminous 
 crops or manure, you can put on your ground phosphate, 
 provided you get it cheaper, but you can’t get it cheap enough 
 as a rule. 
 
 Mr. Collins—Another thing: I know one of the best 
 fruit growers in New Jersey cares nothing about the humus 
 in his orchard. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—I don’t care anything about it either, as 
 long as I can get the moisture. 
 
 Mr. Collins—The ground is dry. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—The plants get the moisture ; there must 
 be some source within reach of the trees, as water is one of 
 the first essentials. 
 
 Mr. Collins—From the quality of the fruit he raises it 
 don’t look as if he got any. I can’t reconcile it. 
 
 Mr. Beebe—In cultivating an orchard the root growth 
 is partially destroyed ; are the benefits derived sufficient to 
 balance this injury. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—That depends upon the kind of tree and 
 the kind of soil, and the method of fertilization. If you put 
 the fertilizer on top, and you haven’t any food below the sur¬ 
 face, that plant will go up there and get it. 
 
 Mr. Beebe—How are you going to get it in below ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Plow it in ; if you are going to grow an 
 orchard on poor soil, plow it in. 
 
Mr. Beebe—Before the orchard is set you can do that, but 
 after thirty years ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—You have got to do it early and get it in 
 
 then. 
 
 Mr. Beebe—I am thinking more of the old orchard. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—That is the real reason why I recommend 
 a large application, because in your old orchard you cannot 
 get it into the soil so readily, unless you do cultivate. You 
 can put your nitrate or phosphate on, but unless your soil is of 
 such a character as to enable it to get down in, it is all on the 
 surface and not where the roots are ordinarily located. 
 
 Mr. Beebe—The point I make is, that if you put it in you 
 might kill so many roots, and I wonder whether it is worth 
 while. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Then I would not do it if that is your 
 opinion. 
 
 Mr. Beebe—On my father’s farm he plowed his orchard 
 and had to go and buy his apples from a man who didn’t plow. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—This whole question of fertilizing success¬ 
 fully is largely dependent upon the subsequent cultivation. 
 
 A Member—Will soluble potash leak out of the soil. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—No ; but you apply potash on the surface 
 of soil which contains a good deal of fine silt or clay, and it is 
 fixed right there. When you apply a large quantity on soil 
 like that you ought to harrow it. 
 
 A Member—Insoluble potash would be the same way. 
 
 Dr, Voorhees—Yes, it would stay just where you put it. 
 But the potash salt is soluble, and on some soils it will dis¬ 
 tribute ilself much better than on soils that have an abund¬ 
 ance of fine particles of clay. Then the tendency is to dis¬ 
 tribute only enough to fix that, and then stay there. It is a 
 good deal like soluble phosphate, that will reach out in sandy 
 soil, but these unfavorable conditions are very seldom met with. 
 
 Mr. Repp—Is it profitable to put lime in an orchard ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Yes, for some kind of soil, because plants 
 require it. I have seen orchards which suffered from lack of 
 lime. The vigor of the trees was of such a character to in¬ 
 dicate that. 
 
 A Member—What kind of lime do you recommend ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Carbonate of lime. 
 
 A Member—How about gas lime ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—That would be all right. 
 
 A Member-How much per acre would you put of gas lime? 
 
Dr. Voorliees—I should put about 20 to 25 bushels of 
 good lime and about 40 bushels gas lime, although for some 
 plants direct application of gas lime would have a tendency 
 to injure the young plants. 
 
 A Member—How often would you apply it ? 
 
 Dr. Voorliees—Once in five or six years. 
 
 Albert Repp—I know atnan that has not had lime on his 
 farm for years. He covered his whole farm with gas lime 
 last year ; this year he got about 80 loads of hay where he had 
 never gotten but very little before. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Gas lime does not possess any quality that 
 will help the plants in a greater degree than ordinary lime. 
 
 Mr. Fullerton—I didn’t quite get your basis of proportion 
 of fertilizer mixture. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—About one-third of each. 
 
 A Member—Provided you have organic matter, what ratio 
 would you think would warrant you in buying floats. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—We find that ground bone averages from 
 one-third to one-half available the first year, and the balance 
 would take possibly four to five years, depending on soil and 
 crop conditions. Now in the ground floats the proportion you 
 get would be very much less the first year. The whole ques¬ 
 tion would have to be worked out in the first place as to the 
 availability of it under average conditions. I should think I 
 would want to buy my float at about one-third the cost of 
 phosphoric acid that I buy it in the animal bone phosphate, 
 and if I didn’t have any organic matter I should not consider 
 it at that price. 
 
 Mr. Fort—I had a neighbor who was using gas lime on 
 liis farm, and he wanted to make his grass grow, and he went 
 in with the gas lime and gave it a liberal coat of lime. The 
 fact was that the gas in this lime stripped the leaves off of his 
 trees so that the blackbirds had no cover. The trees were 
 stripped of foliage until that gas passed off, and then nature 
 covered them again. 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—I don’t think it would take the leaves off 
 an apple tree, but it is always better to have your gas lime ex¬ 
 posed for a year or so before using it. The fresh gas lime 
 does contain a volatile substance which has been found to be 
 injurious. You will find it injurious when you apply it to 
 young growing crops. 
 
 Mr. Fort—I put fresh gas lime on some field and planted 
 corn and it didn’t come up. 
 
Dr. Voorhees—You would not have had that trouble had 
 you exposed it to the air for a year. The only trouble so far 
 as the action of the lime is concerned, it is not in as fine a 
 condition. It has gone back to the carbonate form in part. 
 It has been changed. It has been wet and it is not so caustic. 
 There is a whole lot to this lime question and a whole lot 
 that we don’t know, but there is a whole lot we do know 
 and which would help us a great deal in planting our 
 orchards. I believe that lots of orchards are suffering for 
 lack of lime. 
 
 Mr. Repp—Your opinion is to use caustic lime on new 
 ground and carbonate of lime for old ground ? 
 
 Dr. Voorhees—Yes, that would answer.