EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 377 



likely to cause a cnist to form. If seed has just been planted or if the 

 young plants are just up, such a crust will be very injurious. 



Fourth. — Early ])lowiug and fi-c'ipieut harrowing nuikes the plant food 

 in the soil more available and plant food must be in solution before 

 plants are able to use it. The more finely divided a substance is, the 

 more readily will it dissolve. This clearly illustrat<'s why a well pre- 

 pared seed "bed has advantages over lumps and clods. Harrowing the 

 soil aerates it, that is, it enables the air to enter the soil more readily. 

 Besides, soil contains minute forms of plant life, known as bacteria, 

 which only thrive and multii)ly in the presence of air. These bacteria 

 are beneficial inasmuch as they break down complex forms of plant food 

 and make it more quickly available for the plants' use. 



Cucumbers are not hard on the soil but to be a successful crop the 

 soil should be quite rich. They are quick growing plants and have not 

 the time to rustle for a living, nor can the grower afford to have them 

 do so. The thing to do is to provide them with an abundance of plant 

 food so that they may grow, as it were, at high pressure. On the aver- 

 age land, they should not follow sugar beets, cabbages, potatoes or oats 

 unless such land has, in the mean time, received a liberal application 

 of bara-yard manure or commercial fertilizer. 



No fertilizer material gives better results than well rotted stable 

 manure. If it is plentiful it may profitably be spread broadcast and 

 plowed under, but if the supply is limited, it will be most economical if 

 applied in the hills. 



If commercial fertilizers are to be used, the ground should be plowed 

 early and the fertilizer drilled broadcast as early in the season as pos- 

 sible. When the cucumbers are to be grown for pickles, a fertilizer of 

 the following composition is recommended. 



Nitrogen 3 to 4% 



Available Phosphoric acid 8% 



Potash '. . . . 6 to 10% 



About one-half of the nitrogen should be in the form of nitrate of 

 soda and the remainder as readily available organic nitrogen, such as 

 dried blood or high grade animal tankage. A fertilizer of about this 

 formula can be readily obtained of any manufacturer. From 500 to 

 1000 pounds, depending upon soil conditions, should be used per acre. 



In using commercial fertilizers, it should be remembered that the 

 best results will be obtained when they are used upon soils that are in 

 good physical condition and well supplied with organic matter. 



Unless manure is to be used in the hills, a corn marker with teeth 

 six feet apart is all that is necessary to mark the rows. Six by four 

 feet is the ordinary distance when planting in hills is practiced and if 

 it is desired to cultivate both ways, simply mark both ways and plant 

 at the intersections of the marks. When manure is to be used in the 

 hills, mark in the same way, but the rows six feet apart will have to 

 be furrowed out with a walking plow. Throw a forkful of manure in 

 the furrow at each intersection and cover with a hoe after having 

 first packed the manure with the feet or the back of the hoe. The 

 manure should be put in the hills as early as possible but in harrowing 

 the soil after they are made and before planting, care should be taken 

 not to entirely fill the furrows so as to obliterate the rows. 



