Show MINERAL CONTENT OF APPLES experiment station fanda ah 1 amount to 3 to 35 per cent of fresh mature fruit i fruits of all kinds that grow on plants which receive the largest por uon of their food supply through the soil always contain a rather large amount of mineral substances in the apple or instance it has been found by work carried on in the department of agricultural chemistry of the idaho station that the ash amounts from 3 to 35 per cent of the fresh mature fruit this total ash la obtained by drying a suitable quantity three and one third pounds of the apples at a degree of about forty degrees C for several days and then burning it in an electrical furnace at a dull red heat until practically all the carbon Is consumed the total amount apparently does not vary to any great extent with varieties or with irrigation or non irrigation when this ash which from the ma bority of varieties Is perfectly white als further subjected to analyses the following are the most important ele ments found silicon iron phosphorus manganese calcium mag neelum potassium chlorine and sul chur although no cne has been able to determine the exact function of these various elements in plants and fruits it Is generally believed that sulphur nd phosphorus enter into the living substance that potassium magnesium calcium and iron although not entering into the living substance are essential but owing to the fact that they are BO widely distributed in the soil are absorbed by the root haars of the tree and find their way to the fruit through the tree sap CLIPPER FOR PRUNING TREES device rigged up with aid of wood arm on long handlo and operated with cord worked well having some high branches to prune and being without a clipper used for buch work a pair of ordinary hand clipper clippers was rigged up on a wood arm that was mounted on a long handle writes james M kane of Doyle town pa in popular mechanics one ban die of the clippers was lashed to tha arm and a heavy cord attached to the other an auxiliary spring A kept the lower jaw from sticking GOOD TREE PRUNING POINTS object should be to preserve well balanced top open in the center there can be no ironclad rules laid down relative to the pruning of a tree ree no two trees are exactly alike and each one must be treated individually silly the object should be to preserve e a symmetrical well balanced top c ipen open in the center without crowding the branches in any part all branches which grow toward the center of the tree and those which cross or interfere with each other should be removed A fine toothed pruning saw Is best tor this purpose and the cuts should be made smoothly and close to the body or main branch of the tree from which the superfluous branch Is pruned there Is usually a little ring or en largemont lar gement at the base of each branch the saw cut should be made midway and downward through this enlargement SELECTING TREES TO PLANT deal direct with rather than through agents in order ing stock for orchard prof J 0 moore wisconsin aarl cultural college believes that the trees used in planting have much to do with future success of the orchard thou bands of inferior trees are being planted each year prof moore the true standard upon which to pur chase Is the age the hotd tree la usually best for commercial ranting although one year olds are quite generally used in ordering nursery stock deal dl with the nurseryman rather than through agents unless you know them personally lly state the kind of trees wanted refuse substitutes and be will g to pay a good price for the right kind of trees take good care of trees upon arrival to assure heathy growth hen they arg planted |