HOKTICULTURE. 49 



was taken from underneath the sod used in the prepared soil just noted, 

 "and was, therefore, poorer both in plant food and mechanical mix- 

 ture." The author states that the leaves of the plants grown in the 

 rotted sod and manure were softer, more leather}', and therefore less 

 crisp and tender than those grown in the pots fertilized with the com- 

 mercial fertilizers, and did not keep so well when marketed. " Plants 

 grown in the prepared soil and manure averaged 157.7 gm. in weight, 

 while those grown in the poorer soil with the addition of a liberal 

 dressing of raw bone meal averaged^ 169.3 gm. per plant, an increase 

 in favor of the latter of over 7 per cent." 



In another experiment a pot of the same soil to which commercial 

 fertilizers were added was mixed with an equal bulk of well-rotted 

 manure. The average weights of plants grown under the different con- 

 ditions are as follows: 



"Soil and manure, 323 gm. ; raw bone meal, 286 gm. ; raw bone meal, nitrate of 

 soda, and muriate of potash, 334 gm. The increased product from the third lot over 

 that of the iirst, while only slight, is yet sufficiently marked to show the value of 

 chemical fertilizers in the forcing house. . . . Our best results have been obtained 

 with raw bone meal, nitrate of soda, and muriate of potash. The last 2 ingredients, 

 because of their immediate availability, should be used in moderate amounts, and, in 

 the case of nitrate of soda at least, should be applied in from 2 to 4 installments." 



The effect of transplanting on time of maturity, F. Cranefield 



( Wtscvnahi Sta. Rpt. 1S90, j>2^- '^12-315). — Tests were made to deter- 

 mine the correctness of the commonly accepted opinion that transplant- 

 ing promotes earliness and increases yield. Trials were made with a 

 number of vegetables both in the greenhouse and in the open field. 

 Seeds of Grand Rapids lettuce were sown in a greenhouse on January 

 15. February 5 one-half of the plants were taken up and reset in the 

 same places in the usual manner of transplanting seedlings. March 23 

 the entire crop was cut and weighed. The average weight of the 

 plants not transplanted was 42.4 gm., while the average weight of the 

 transplanted plants was only 36.4 gm., showing a gain of 16f per cent 

 in favor of the plants that were not transplanted. 



In another trial cabbage seed was sown February 5. February 28 

 two-thirds of the plants were transplanted as in the previous trial, and 

 March 8 one-half of the transplanted plants were again transplanted. 

 May 3, 8 plants from each lot were cut and weighed. The plants that 

 had not been transplanted weighed 4,214 gm. Those that had been 

 transplanted once weighed 2,993.5 gm. and those that had been trans- 

 planted twice weighed 2,241.7 gm. " In this case the once-transplanted 

 plants fell 28.9 per cent behind the not transplanted, and those twice 

 transplanted fell 46 per cent behind the not transplanted. Several 

 other trials were made in the greenhouse with lettuce and radishes, and 

 all gave similar results." 



In a similar way 3 crops of tomatoes were grown. In each case 

 seeds were planted singly in flowerpots in the greenhouse, As in the 



