PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 11 



" Wood ashes can be applied with profit at the rate of from fifty to one 

 hundred bushels per acre, and with the addition of a few loads of stable 

 manure make tlie safest, cheapest, and best source of plant food at the 

 service of the fruit and vegetable grower. 



VALUE OF POTASH SALTS. 



" In some localities ashes cannot readily be obtained, and there the use 

 of other mineral fertilizers may be profitable. The cheapest source of 

 potash, next to those mentioned, is in the form of potash salts. These are 

 mined in Germany and exported in large quantities. They can be pur- 

 chased either in the form of muriate or sulphate. 



"The muriate of potash (fifty per cent potash) can be'purchased at from 

 $40 to $4:5 per ton, and is generally preferred for fruit trees, while the 

 sulphate is perhaps best for vegetables. An application of from one 

 hundred to three hundred pounds per acre will produce decided results. 



"Not only are these potash salts valuable as a source of potash, but 

 auxiliary to this they have a wonderful effect upon the health of the plant 

 and the quality of its fruit. Strong, vigorous plants are much less subject 

 to disease, and if attacked are less injured, than weak ones, and potash, 

 particularly in the form of muriate, is of itself a fungicide. 



"The application of potash to fruits greatly increases the sugar that 

 they contain, and in other ways improves the ci[uality, while as a fertilizer 

 for potatoes the sulphate of potash will often make all the difference 

 between heavy and watery and light and mealy tubers. 



PHOSPHOKIC ACID. 



"For the fruitgrower especially, the best source for phosphoric acid will 

 be found in finely ground bones. In the eastern states, where manure is 

 costly, many growers depend entirely upon ground bone and potash for 

 their fertilizers, using as much as five hundred pounds of bone and two 

 hundred and fifty pounds of potash per acre ; and some market gardeners 

 apply twice this amount upon their asparagus, onions, and other crops. 



OTHEE CHEMICAL MANURES. 



"In some special cases other chemicals may be applied with profit. 

 The market gardener, whose profit or loss depends upon how early he is 

 able to place his produce upon the market, needs some soluble and stimu- 

 lating manure which he can supply to his plants when they are starting, 

 while yet the soil is so cold that plant food is formed in it very slowly or 

 not at all. Such a fertilizer he can obtain by the use of nitrate of soda or 

 sulphate of ammonia, together with stable manure or bone and potash. 



"In some localities the use of "complete manures" is very common. If 

 properly compounded they produce excellent results, and, for the ordinary 

 farmer and gardener of the Atlantic states, are a profitable fertilizer; but 

 there are few localities in Michigan where manure and ashes cannot be 

 obtained much cheaper. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZER. 



"The use of superphosphates is becoming greater each year, and if 

 honestly made, using bones for their base, they may be desirable. Before 

 using any of these fertilizers extensively, however, it is best to try them 



