November 23, 1918 



H R T I C U L T U B E 



507 



Pinchot says "there ought to be a change.'' J j o th e r e — 

 should, but not in the direction he advocates. 



The prices of commercial leitilizeis 



Fertilizers have ruled so high during the present 



to cost more year tliat many cultivators have deemed 



the cost almost prohibitive and liave 

 used them in smaller quantities than formerly. For 

 next year, or at any rate until the end of the sjiriug 

 planting season, still higher prices, we understand, are 

 in sight — ten per cent at least, in advance of those 

 which have prevailed this year. This will prove a 

 serious situation for those who have used these fertiliz- 

 ers extensively, yet the increase in price seems to be 

 unavoidable on account of the scarcity and higher cost 

 of raw materials. Of these, potash has been the most 

 diflBcult to obtain, after the German supply of potash 

 salts was cut off. With the return of Alsace-Lorraine 

 to France it is to be expected that the potash deposits 

 in the restored territory will become available to us. 

 but this relief can hardly reach us for a year yet. 

 Potash deposits are now known to exist in as yet unde- 

 termined quantities in Spain ; they are undeveloped and 

 may not be brought to market for several years. All 

 other sources of potash are quite insufiBcient to meet 

 normal demands and the potash content of fertilizer 

 formulas has been generally reduced to a mere fraction 

 of its former proportion, or left out. Chemists tell us 

 that most soils are naturally rich in potash and that 

 with deeper and more frequent turning over and witli 

 liberal application of lime the soil potash becomes read- 

 ily available to growing plants. Nitrate of soda, the 

 most important source of nitrogen in fertilizer now 



«ells at nearly double its pre-war price. This advance 

 has been due chiefly to the shortage of tonnage to bring 

 this material from Chili. It is to be hoped that now 

 with more ships available, the supply will soon be in- 

 creased. Nitrogen, mechanically taken from the at>- 

 mosphere is too costly now for fertilizer use; many 

 farmers, however, are successfully transferring atmos- 

 pheric nitrogen to the soil by means of leguminous soil- 

 ing crops. Phosphoric acid also costs more. There is 

 unlimited supply of this material in the deposits of 

 phosphate rock in Florida and other southern states, 

 but sulphuric-acid necessary to make it soluble, has 

 greatly advanced, in consequence of the great demand 

 of it for munitions of war. Abattoir tankage and lx)ne 

 were formerly the chief sources of supeqjhosphate, now 

 they form but a small proportion of the supply. The 

 cultivator can do little at present to lessen the cost of 

 his fertilizer, but he may do much to secure a maximum 

 return from what fertilizers he uses and by proper 

 mechanical preparation of the soil may even get along 

 with smaller applications of fertilizer without diminu- 

 tion of crop. Progressive farmers in our western states 

 are now plowing much deeper than formerly and find 

 that where this is done less fertilizer is required and 

 crops are better. Our agricultural colleges would do 

 well to devote more attention to the subject of the 

 mechanical treatment of soil, including such topics as 

 drainage, deeper tillage, fall plowing, ridging, etc., all 

 of which receive close attention in the older countries of 

 the world, in some of which commercial fertilizers are 

 beyond the reach of the farmer. Aside from the liberal 

 use of lime he depends almost wholly on tillage for 

 bis crop. 



WHEN THEY GET TOGETHER. 



When you hear of an inspection 

 tour does it mean that every grower 

 tells every other grower all that he 

 knows to his visitors? That is what 

 they (the visitors) seem to expect, 

 and as a rule he makes a good bluff 

 at it. If he is hard pressed, one of 

 the favorite diversions is to start run- 

 ning down the retailers. Get the 

 boys going on that subject and the 

 main point is soon sidetracked. "Ha!" 

 says the grower; "they buy flowers 

 for two cents and get twenty for 

 them." And thousands of other atroci- 

 ties of a similar nature. Another de- 

 vice when a delicate question is asked 

 is to tell an automobile story. That 

 gets them all going in great shape. 

 EJvery grower seems to have a worse 

 auto story than the other and seems 

 anxious to tell It. So the awkward 

 situation is again passed over. Great 

 is the auto story! It even helps out 

 when "World Politics" come up, and 

 there happens to be an anti-war man 

 in the party. 



When it comes to really construc- 

 tive work, however, there is a good 

 deal that does not appear on the sur- 

 face. Keen eyes are noting, keen ears 

 are listening, and when all the airy 

 persiflage and camouflage is said and 

 done, there remains a wealth of 



knowledge and suggestion for future 

 progress of great value which the 

 stay-at-homes fall to get inspired with 

 — to their great detriment in mind 

 and pocket. 



So when we come to size things up, 

 a tour of inspection is a good thing 

 and "can be highly recommended, as 

 are Carter's Liver Pills." It may not 

 appear on the surface but it is there 

 just the same. If you are clever you 

 will catch the point when you go 

 around and look and listen. Go around 

 anyway; if it does you no good, it will 

 do you no harm. 



"Although It rains throw not 

 Away the watering pot." 



Gex)rge C. Watsok. 



BURTON INSPECTION PARTY. 



A party of fourteen made an auto 

 tour among the leading rose growers 

 of Bucks and Montgomery counties on 

 Nov. 14th as the guests of George 

 and Alfred Burton of Chestnut Hill, 

 Philadelphia. After looking over the 

 Burton places, calls were made on 

 George Campbell at Flourtown, John 

 Welsh Young and Myers & Santman. 

 On reaching Gwynedd the party had 

 to stop and see John Savage, a boy- 

 hood friend of John Burton. Mr. Sav- 

 age grows all kinds of old-fashioned 

 things that are seldom seen now- 



adays and these proved very interest- 

 ing to even the rose experts. The 

 Florex establishment at North Wales, 

 where the two mammoth greenhouses 

 — the biggest in this part of the coun- 

 try — are the wonder of the day, was 

 next visited. Roses are the main 

 crop here. The next call was on 

 Stephen Mortensen at Southampton, 

 where a pleasant hour was spent 

 among the roses and orchids. From 

 there to the Heacock place at Roeloffs 

 is a forty minute run but is well 

 worth the gasoline. On the way home 

 a call was made on Adolph Faren- 

 wald at Hillside, but it was too dark 

 to allow of a satisfactory inspection. 

 Lunch Was served at noon at the Hat- 

 boro Inn, Hatboro, George Burton be- 

 ing the host; and dinner at the resi- 

 dence of Alfred Burton. Two even- 

 ing hours were spent in satisfying the 

 inner man and pleasant converse. 

 After a hearty vote of thanks to Al- 

 fred Burton and to the rest of the 

 family who had done so much to make 

 the event agreeable, a start was made 

 for home. Among those present In 

 the party were Mr. Lehr of Baltimore, 

 E. M. Harvey, Brandywine Summit, 

 John R. Andre, Doylestown, W. Mc- 

 Kissick, Baltimore, Robert Kift, W. 

 H. Engel, Samuel S. Pennock, John 

 Burton, Arthur A. Niessen and J. W. 

 Colflesh, Jr. 



