286 



HORTICULTURE: 



February 27, 1909 





We are the Largest Grow- 

 ers in Massachusetts of 



GRAFTED ROSES 



AND OWN ROOT 

 STOCK 



FIRST STOCK SENT I )UT MARCH 



TO GET THE BEST IN GOOD SEASON ORDER NOW. 



AmeHcan Beauty, Rhea Reid, Ki Harney, Richmond, Kaiser in. 

 Bride, Bridesmaid, Bon Siiene, Safrano, '"" Perle des Jardins 



Our stock of ASPARAi ;US PLUMOSUS NANUS is the largest in this country. We are headquarters lor cut strings and 

 always have a stock on hand which can be shipped on short notice. Extra Fine Long Strings 50 Cents Each. Seed- 

 lings of Asparagus Plumosus Nanus aud Asparagus Sprengerii. Large stock of Asparagus Nanus and Asparagus Sprengerii 

 seed. Send for prices. 



NEAR OAK SQUARE 

 BRIGHTON, MASS. 



W. H. ELLIOTT 



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FEEDING THE CROPS. 



Extracts from "The Yeast of the SoU." 

 a paper read bv William H. Bowker 

 before the Massachusetts Horti- 

 culturnl Societ.v. 

 (Continued from page 251.) 

 Potential Fertility. 

 Chemisti-j- teaches us that plants are 

 composed of certain fixed elements 

 which are supplied by tie soil and the 

 air. It further teaches that while there 

 is an abundant supply, yet we have ex- 

 hausted the three leading elements, ni- 

 trogen, phosphoric acid and potash, in 

 available forms; that so-called barren 

 or unproductive soils may be rich in 

 plant food elements, but that these ele- 

 ments are so locked up as to be of little 

 value to the commercial grower, whose 

 chief concern is quick crops for quick 

 returns. In other words, the available 

 plant food (nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 

 and potash) has been exhausted, leav- 

 ing only the unavailable or what is 

 known as the potential fertility which, 

 by the slow processes of nature, is 

 yielded up too slowly to be depended 

 iipon by the commercial farmer. 

 "The Little Balance." 

 Therefore, in modern practice, in- 

 stead of asking the soil how much of 

 the potential fertility can be depended 

 upon for each crop, or what the "natu- 

 ral yield will be" (a question w'hich 

 will' never be satisfactorily answered), 

 we now apply what we believe to be 

 necessary to produce the maximum 

 yield over aud above the natural yiold 

 of the land. In all cases, we find tiiat 

 the actual requirements of plant food 

 tor various crops are ver\' small in- 

 deed, in many cases not over 20n lbs. 

 of actual plant food (nitrogen, potash 



and phosphoric acid) — so little to pro- 

 duce so much, and yet if it is absent 

 the crop will be a failure. It is this 

 little essential balance of available 

 plant food which stands between suc- 

 cess and failure, and which concerns 

 the modern farmer today. Thus our 

 prO'blem is to supply the "little bal- 

 ance of ready plant food" for the grow- 

 ing crop, as milk or prepared food is 

 supplied to the growing child, and 

 later as cooked or digestible foods are 

 supplied to man. 



Stable Msnure and Commercial Fer- 

 tilizers. 



It is estimated that a cord of stable 

 manure weighing 4000 lbs. contains on 

 the average 50 lbs. of plant food, worth 

 about $". the remainder (3950 lbs.) be- 

 ing water, straw and organic matter. 

 For the 50 lbs. of plant food to be ren- 

 dered available, we are dependent very 

 largely upon bacterial action in the 

 manure and in the soil. In the old 



days, as I have said, we composted 

 manure in advance in order to hasten 

 the process of decomposition and in- 

 crease its availability. Now, as a rule, 

 depending upon commercial manures 

 tor active available plant food, we ap- 

 ply the manure on the soil directly as 

 we produce it or receive it. 



While there are only 50 lbs. of actual 

 plant food (nitrogen, phosphtoric acid 

 and potash) in a cord of manure, yet 

 we must not overlook the value of the 

 organic matter, straw, etc., not only 

 for the humus which is added to the 

 soil by means of the manure, but also 

 for the improved physical condition 

 which it imparts to the soil. This 

 humus, no commercial manure sup- 

 plies, and in this respect stable manure 

 is superior to commercial manures, 

 but the value of this excessive amount 

 of humus in stable manure, as a source 

 of plant food, depends, as we have 

 seen, not only upon a thorough dis- 

 tribution of the manure in the soil. 



SOME OF OUR SPECIALTIES 



Boxwood Pyramid Shape, i'A td 3 It. high, vcrv heavy, $1.7,5 each, 3 to M ft high, $2.50 

 each. Bush Shape, vers heavy, 3 to 2H ft., S1.75each, 2H to3 fl. high, $2 00 each. 



Rhododendrons, i ar.soii's Hardv varieties. 8 to 12 buds, 18 to 24 in. high, at $75.00 iierlOO; 12 to 

 U buds, iM to 3'i in. high, at $100 00 per 100. 



Azalea nollis, 15 to 18 in. high very bushy and fall of buds, at S3o.00 per 100. 



Hybrid Perpetual Roses, strong dormant field grown plants, of our own growing, none 

 better, $11 00 per 100. $100 per 1000, 



noss Ro8<s. field grown, SI 00 per 100. 



Hardy Climbing Roses, field grown, $8 CO per 100. j,^ , • ^ „ „ » 



Tree Roses, hardy varieties, budded on straight stems, 4 to 5 ft. high, $30 00 per 100. 



Ampelopsis Veltchii, bushy, 2 yr. plants. 3 foot of tops, $1000 pi r 100. 



Painesville, 

 Ohio 



The Storrs & Harrison Co., 



