296 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tioii except as to hardness; with us it is very much harder than the Gregg, 

 and of better quality. 



President Sweet: Mr. Thos. Meehan of Germantown, Pa., sends a paper 

 on the siibject, "Shall we use commercial fertilizers in the nursery, and 

 what kind?" AYe will hear from his son, Thos. B. Meehan, on the subject. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR THE NURSERY. 



To ask, " Should a nurseryman use commercial fertilizers," seems to me like inquiring, 

 might he eat beaf steak? Some may, and some may not; and some may at one time, 

 when at others it would be improper. We have used them only to a limited extent. 

 We use almost wholly manure from horse railway stables. It is so satisfactory that we 

 desire no other. 



We have been told by friends that this is wasteful; that most that we jjay for and haul 

 away is but water; and in a whole cart-load of stable manure all that is of use to a 

 plant may be carried in a saucer. But this is true of almost everything. Water is the 

 chief article we pay for in a peach or a watermelon; and the whole profit a baker 

 derives from a barrel of flour consists in the water he mixes with it to tium it into 

 bread. 



The bulk of what an animal eats is rejected. The proportion of food assimilated by 

 the animal is ridiculously small, yet is that bulk of waste useless? Would the animal 

 thrive as well if only that which it assimilates were given to it? No one will believe it; 

 and I equally believe that bulk is of great value in manure, though there be no greater 

 proportion of immediate value than in the food of animals. 



It has been said of a Sotch lord, who was enthused with agricultural chemistry, that 

 he once told his farmer the time would come when he could carry the manure for 

 an acre of ground in one vest pocket. " No doubt, my lord," was the respectful reply, 

 " and he will most likely carry the crop from that acre home in the other." 



We have got no further than that today. The concentrated manure has not given us 

 the great crops. Bulk, with all its hard labor and supposed waste, is popular with all. 

 Only when they can't be had at reasonable rates, are commercial fertilizers popular 

 at all. 



The expression, " reasonable rates," to my mind, tells the whole story. No nurseryman 

 can succeed without rich soil. A half-starved tree is like a half-starved animal. The 

 spark of life is low. An accident to a man of low vitality may be fatal. The man with 

 strong vital power will easily survive that which will kill the other. Transplanting is 

 an accident — a blow at vital power. Mortality among trees, where the ground has been 

 allowed to become poor, is always greater than where good food is continued with the 

 trees. Many understand this, and will give more for trees from a well-fed nursery than 

 for trees from poor concerns. But usually the nurseryman can not get more. His only 

 comfort, then, is that he doubles his acreage. He gets trees as large in one year as he 

 would in two on poorer soil. He must have manure. If he can not get the bulky kind 

 at a reasonable rate, he must get commercial fertilizers. 



It is to my mind wholly a question of profit and loss, to be determined only by actual 

 experience in each case. 



But so much am I attracted by bulk, that, in many cases where others would use 

 commercial fertilizers, I would prefer to plow in a crop of green clover, though I lost 

 the use of the ground for a whole season. If the ground did not grow good clover, I 

 would use lupines or green corn. 



It may be gathered from luy remarks that I think a nurseryman may sometimes 

 profitably use commercial fertilizers, but that I think I should use them less than some 

 others would, through favoring bulk as a very useful ingredient in a good manure. 



Mr. Fox of Wisconsin: I corresponded about fertilizers, within a year 

 or so, with different parties from New York. I have a vineyard which I 

 have run several years, and it is so steep that I can not get any manure on 

 it, and was advised to try fertilizers. I tried Pacific guano, and I think I 

 get good results, and I believe a great deal in fertilizers where you can not 

 bring manure. 



Mr. Green: I have wondered why nurserymen do not use more com- 

 mercial fertilizers. I agree with everything that Mr. Meehan said. Use 

 all the yard manure we can afford to pay for, and then buy all the com- 



