Consult The Trees
Categories: Soils, Fertilizers and IrrigationCan I send you a little soil out of my one-year-old pear orchard so that
you can advise me what I can do to improve its fertility. The trees are
fairly thrifty, but as fruit growing is my pleasure I wish to make it a
model orchard and add whatever it requires of nitrogen, humus, etc.,
immediately so as to increase the growth for this summer. Next winter I
intend to put manure around them and cultivate about every other month.
Careful experimenting with fertilizers will teach you more than analysis
would do, because the behavior of the tree under various conditions
tells you more than a chemist possibly could. Besides, we are of the
conviction that on good soils young fruit trees should not be pushed
beyond the growth which they would naturally make with a regular and
adequate moisture supply. Be careful about using fertilizers on young
trees, either in the summer or in the winter. When they come to bearing
age and yield large crops of fruit, that is another question. Any
California soil which will not grow young fruit trees thriftily should
not be used for orchard purposes unless an amateur desires to grow trees
on a picturesque lot of rocks or sand.
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Clipping Hens For Cleanliness
My hens foul all the feathers below the vent; they appear healthy, but do not look nice. What can I do? Take a pair of scissors and clip the fluff away from that part of the abdomen, give a teaspoonful of olive oil, and notice of they have any... Close Grazing
Much harm results from turning livestock on pastures too early in the spring. The ground is kept soft by spring rains, and the hoofs cut the turf. The grass needs its first leaves to enable it to make rapid growth, and the first grass of spring is not... Cloth For Brooding Houses
Would some good grade of white cloth on a frame do as well, or would it be better than glass, for a brooder house, or would it keep out too much sun-heat? Cheesecloth, not heavy cloth, would be better than glass, so far as the sun is concerne... Cloth For Hotbeds
Would cloth do to cover a hotbox to raise lettuce, radishes, etc., for winter use where we get a very heavy rainfall? Yes, if you make the cloth waterproof for its own preservation from mildew and other agencies of decay. The following recipe ... Clover And Acid Soils
There are limited areas in which some clover disease has flourished, and in some years insect attacks are serious. Barring these factors which have relatively small importance when the entire clover area is taken into account, the causes of clover fai... Clover For Wet Lands
What kind of alfalfa will do best on sub-irrigated land which is very wet? I have sown it in alfalfa and it grows finely for two or three years, but then the roots rot and die. It is impossible to make any kind of alfalfa grow well on very wet... Clovers And Drought
I have sandy loam with some alkali. In wet years it is regarded as too damp in some places. Can you give me any information on the following points? I have practically no water for irrigation and I feel sure that alfalfa would not grow without i... Clovers For High Ground-water
Where, in California, is alfalfa being raised successfully above a water-table of, say, 4 feet or less, and are any unusual means used to accomplish this? Over a high water-table, the alfalfa plant will be shorter lived according to the shall... Coal Ashes In The Garden
What is the effect of coal ashes on the red clay soil of Redlands or wood and coal ashes combined? Coal ashes are exceedingly desirable upon clay land because their mechanical mixture with the fine particles of the clay renders the soil more ... Coal Tar And Asphaltum On Trees
What is the effect of coal tar or asphaltum applied to the bark of trees? The application of coal tar to prevent the root borers of the prune which operate near the surface of the ground was found to be not injurious to the trees, although th... Coal-ashes
There is no plant-food of value in coal-ashes. The physical condition of heavy soils is improved by an application, and their use may be quite profitable in this way if cost of application is small. When used as a mulch, ashes conserve moisture. ... Cockerels Of The Larger Breeds Should Not Be Mated Before A Year Old
... Comice Pears
Would you plant Comice pears instead of Bartletts, and why? What is their behavior as to bearing? Do they require any different treatment than Bartletts? What roots? Do they need other varieties for pollinizing? Do not plant Cornice instead o... Common Source Of Losses
When we bear in mind that four fifths of all the fertility removed from the land in the grains and coarse stuffs fed on the farm may be recovered from the animals and returned to the soil, we can appreciate the consideration that the care of manure sh... Composition Of Plant Not A Guide
It has been pointed out that a chemical analysis of a soil is not a dependable guide in the selection of a fertilizer. Years ago the theory was advanced that the analysis of the crops desired should be a guide, but it has proved nearly worthless. Thi... Composting Garden Wastes
You recommend making a compost of all scrapings, garbage, weeds, etc. Is there any danger in having this in a pit near the house? If you desire to put garden wastes, including manure, into a pit, the only objection would be the heavy work of d... Composting Manure
Will the dry barnyard manure, when heaped up and dampened with water, make a valuable fertilizer? For garden use, dry manure in heaps should be dampened with water from time to time so as to prevent too active fermentation. Of course, water s... Composts
The compost, involving the handling of manure and soil, has no rightful place on the average farm. The gardener or trucker using great quantities of manure per acre must let some of the fermentation occur before he incorporates it with the soil, or ha... Concentrates And Corn Stalks
Is it necessary to feed mulch cows any hay or concentrated feed in addition to green corn stalks? It is necessary. Green corn is an excellent thing for milch cows, but it is a very unbalanced ration and needs alfalfa or something else to bala... Concentrates With Alfalfa
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Is a concrete floor good for a horse stable? Concrete floors are satisfactorily used for horse stables, provided the floor is ribbed or otherwise roughened in a way to reduce the danger of slipping. Some stablemen have stall floors made that w... Condensation For Irrigation
If a circular funnel of waterproofed building paper, or some better cheap device, were fastened about the base of the tree in such a manner as to catch and concentrate most of the drippings from the leaves, and that water made to run down throug... Connections
The laterals should enter the branches and mains near the top, so that the water will be drawn out rapidly. The tile should be laid with close joints at the top, so that the water may enter more freely from the sides than the top. No covering other th... Consult The Trees
Can I send you a little soil out of my one-year-old pear orchard so that you can advise me what I can do to improve its fertility. The trees are fairly thrifty, but as fruit growing is my pleasure I wish to make it a model orchard and add what... Continuous Cropping With The Same Plant
What would happen on the crops of cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants, etc., planted on the same place continuously? There would be in time a decadence of crop from soil exhaustion, but that you could prevent by fertilization. The greatest dange... Control Of Grasshoppers
This county is having trouble with the grasshoppers as are other counties. Would you kindly inform me what I could do to exterminate them on my young orchard? The best thing for grasshoppers is to fix up a lot of poison. This is made in the p... Control Of Pear Slug
I am sending, under separate cover, some samples of cherry tree leaves that have been attacked by a small snail or slug. Kindly let me know what they are, and how to rid the trees of them. The creatures you speak of are the pear slugs, or the ... Control Of Red Spider
Can you give directions for the prevention of injury by the red spider to almond and other trees in the Sacramento volley? The red spider on almond and prune trees is usually controlled by the thorough application of dry sulphur to the foliage... Control Of Squash Bugs
... Controlling Factors
The farm supply of stable manure is a carrier of plant-food, returning to the soil four fifths of all the fertility removed in the crops fed, but it is much more than this. Land which receives only plant-food, as may be the case when fertility is supp... Controlling Root-growth
The exception to the rule that plant-roots should not be pruned by deep cultivation is found in the case of a close soil in a wet season. The plants extend their roots only in the soil at the surface because the ground is soaked with water nearly all ... Corn Growing For Silage
With fair cultivation, will an acre produce about 10 tons of ensilage without fertilization - it being bottom land? How should it be planted? - the rows closer together than 3 feet, or should it be planted the usual width between rows, and thick... Corn In The Sacramento Valley
Is it practical to raise corn in the Sacramento volley? Are the soil and climatic conditions suitable? The success of corn on plains and uplands in the Sacramento valley has not yet been fully demonstrated, although good corn is grown on river... Corn Two Years
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Will you please give information concerning cow peas or the most suitable crop to sow in a hop field for winter growth, to be plowed under as a fertilizer in the spring? Also, would it injure the vines to be cut down before they die, so as to so... Covering Sunburned Bark
Would asphaltum do to use an sunburned bark? Owing to the attraction of the heat by the black color, asphaltum would increase the injury by absorption of more heat. Some white coating is altogether best for sunburn injuries, because it will re... Covering Tree Wounds
What is the best stuff to use on wounds and large cuts on my fruit trees? I have used grafting wax, but it is expensive and not altogether satisfactory. Amputation wounds on trees can be more successfully treated with lead and oil paint than ... Cow Chewing Bones
One of my cows is continually chewing bones. What can I do to prevent it? Give the cow good clean hay; some root crop, cocoanut meal, bran or soy-bean meal. If the cow does not stop mix in the drinking water twice daily a little dilute hydroc... Cow Peas Not Preparatory For Corn
What time of the year can cow peas be planted, and can the entire crop be plowed under in time for planting field corn? Cowpeas are very subject to frost. They are really beans, and therefore can be grown in the winter time only in a few pract... Cow Pox
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I have been told that the drainings from a cow barn make an excellent fertilizer for orange and lemon trees, in fact, anywhere on plants where manure is considered beneficial. The drainage from a cow barn is excellent for fertilizing almost an... Cowpeas And Canadian Peas
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I planted cowpeas between peach trees which I have kept irrigated; when should they be plowed under? Cowpeas will be killed by frost in most places and should, therefore, be plowed in this fall whenever you have a large growth of green stuff a... Cowpeas In The San Joaquin
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