HORTICULTURE. 



1047 



that iiuicli In'ttor lettuce crops may be fdrcerl liy tlie additioii of Htal)le iiiaimre to 

 coimiienial fertilizers than without it, Init that it is not pxxl economy to make 

 reiK'ated heavy applications of the mamire to the same soil. 



(impacting the soil made up of 8.SA per cent of manure resnlteil in better yields 

 than when the soil was not thus treated. Throughout the experiments the clay 

 loam proved a V)etter forcing soil than the sandy loam. 



Abstracts are given of the work done in forcing lettuce by other experiment 

 stations. 



Fertilizers for forcing- lettuce, 1'. 11. II a u,, S. A. Ue.uh, and 11. 1 1 asski.hkiw} 

 ( AVj.' )'o)-k Sidle Sl<t. Hill. ..'OS, /inimlnr i<l., jip. S, j>ls. J). — A popular simiuiary of the 

 above l)ulletin. 



Melons, A. Pettiorkw {./our. lioij. Hurl. Soc. [hmdon'], J6 (lUOO), No. 1-^, jtp. 

 l/S-/.'7, //'/••<. 4)- — The muskmelon is considered and directions given for its culture 

 under glass. 



Commercial fertilizers for onions, W. 11. Jordan and K. A. Siuui.vk {New Turk 

 State Sid. Bui. JOH, pp. '^65-274)- — It was believed that onion growers in the second 

 judicial department of New York were using excessive amounts of conunercial ferti- 

 lizers for their onion crop each year. Mxiieriments were therefore begun in 1897 to 

 test this lielief. A complete commercial fertilizer mixture, analyzing 4 per cent 

 nitrogen, 8 per cent phosi>horic acid, and 10 per cent jiotash, which is popular with 

 onion growers of that section, was used; and 500, 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 lbs. per acre, 

 respectively, applied to different plats for 4 years in succession on one field and for 

 one year on another. The soil upon which the experiment was conducted was 

 especially suitable for onions, being black, peaty, and friable, with a water table 

 about 2 ft. below. The average cost of the fertilizers used and the yield of onions 

 per acre for the 4 years are shown in the following table: 



Cod of fertilizer.^ and average yield of oniouH per acre. 



I Barrel = 1.50 lbs. 



The table shows that the jirofits from using the fertilizers were greatwt with the 

 first 5(X) lbs. applied. In the opinion of the authors, considering the variations of 

 market price of onions from year to year and the vicissitudes in growing, the use 

 of more than 500 lbs. of fertilizers on the soils in question was attended by danger 

 of financial loss. 



In the duplicate of the exi)eriment, carried out for a single season, there was no 

 iiu-rea.se whatever from the use of fertilizers, the soil on which the experiment was 

 conducted being well enough supplied with these elements from the manuring of 

 jtreceding years. It is believed that this unnecessary use of manures on soils already 

 rich in plant food illu.strates a connnon mistake of farmers engaged in intensive oper- 

 ations. In this test i:^ [)er cent of the yield, when no fertilizer was aj)i)lied, was 

 small i)ickle onions, .S percent when 500 l))s. was ai)plied, 1.9 per cent when 1,000 

 lbs. was applied, ^^.^ per cent when 1,500 lbs. was applieil, and 4.."! jier cent when 

 2,000 lbs. was ai.plie(l. 



Fertilizer problems, K. 11. Hali., \V. II. .Iokoan, <i. W. (!ni'i:(iin,i., and K. .\. 

 SiRKiNE (Neir York Slate Sta. Hals. m5, W6, popular ed., pp. cS').— This is a poi>ular 

 summary of Bulletins 205 (see p. 1042) and 206 of the station, noted above. 



