116 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



ing in the autumn months when the sun 

 is at a lower altitude, produce yellow flow- 

 ers. While we know with practical cer- 

 tainty the whys of most of the phases of 

 plant life, our knowledge of how color is 

 actually formed in flowers is at present com- 

 paratively only in its infancy. It is, how- 

 ever, absolutely certain that all floral colors 

 come from the sun's rays. S. 



I have a plot of ground that has been 

 heavily fertilized with chicken manure, 

 which is causing plants to shoot up like 

 weeds. The soil appears to be too rich. 

 What can I do to make it suitable? 

 W. H. M., New York. 



Ground heavily fertilized with chicken 

 manure will naturally be rich, with the nat- 

 ural consequence that plants will make lux- 

 uriant growth. The question does not state 

 for what it is desired to make the ground 

 suitable. Most kinds of vegetables would 

 find the conditions ihereljy produced very 

 suitable, and by intensive and continual 

 cropping the apparent excessive richness 

 would soon be reduced. I have never found 

 the use of chicken manure unsuitable for 

 any crop, but an excessive quantity would 

 doubtless have the effect of, in the case of 

 potatoes for instance, increasing the growth 

 of top at the expense of the tubers, and 

 tomatoes would perhaps be less fruitful. It 

 must be remembered that, while chicken 

 manure is an excellent fertilizer, it is not 

 perfectly balanced, inasmuch as its nitrogen 

 content is too great in proportion to its 

 phosphate content, therefore it is liable when 

 used to excess to produce excessive leaf and 

 stem growth. This can be remedied by the 

 use of bone meal or acid phosphate — the 

 latter is preferable — at the rate of seven or 

 eight hundred pounds to the acre. The rich- 

 ness could be reduced by deeper digging so 

 as to bring up some of the poorer subsoil 

 and mix it up with the surface. This latter 

 must be done with discretion, according as 

 to the kind of subsoil, as too much might 

 do harm ; but it is not, however, likely to 

 be harmful if the new soil is thoroughly 

 mixed with the old. S. 



In different subjects I read in garden 

 magazines and particularly in the year 

 books of the Dept. of Agriculture about 

 the fixation of the free air nitrogen by 

 the leguminous germs, and in regard to 

 this, it was frequently stated that it was 

 necessary to inoculate such seeds or 

 soil where and when it was intended to 

 improve such land in nitrogen; this be- 

 ing understood when the ground is posi- 

 tively lacking of the proper bacteria, 

 which is noticed by the absence of 

 nodules on the roots of beans or any 

 other legumes. 



Permit me to kindly request you, 

 through the questionnaire, to explain the 

 process of inoculating the above men- 

 tioned seeds. H. S., N. J. 



The U. -S. Department of Agriculture 

 some years ago gave out a formula for the 

 manufacture of pure cultures of those 

 species of bacteria which cause the root- 

 nodules of leguminous plants, and these 

 cultures can now be obtained through 

 seedsmen. It has been found that dififer- 

 ent species of leguminous plants have their 

 own special bacteria, and therefore in 

 ordering these cultures the species for 

 which they are required should be stated. 

 There arc two methods of inoculation, either 

 by inoculating the seed or the soil. The 

 former is the better way with pure cultures ; 

 but soil may be also inoculated by other 

 soil taken from land in which the bacteria 

 are known to be present. As full direc- 

 tions are sent out with the cultures it does 

 not appear necessary to set them forth at 





SEEDS THAT 



ARE TESTED AND 



GUARANTEED 



Carters customers are growing the best and only the 



best Tested Seeds, because the results received from 



ihese seeds justify their continued use. 



CARTER'S CATALOG "GARDEN AND LAWN" 



Sent free on Request 



CARTER'S TESTED SEEDS, Inc. 



102 Chamber of Commerce Building, BOSTON, Mass. 

 Branch of James Carter & Co., Raynes Park, London, England 



«-* 



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1 We beg to announce a consolidation, effective January 10, 1920, of 1 



i Carter's Tested Seeds, Inc., of Boston, Mass., and Toronto, Ontario — 1 



i the branches of James Carter and Company of London, England, and i 



I Messrs. Peterson, Sinclaire & Miller, Inc., of New York, who have been § 



i acting as sales agents for Carter's products in America. § 



I The headquarters of the enlarged company will be located in New^ § 



= York, and branch offices established in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, 1 



I Toronto and probably other cities. i 



I Fully appreciating the demand for our products in the past and | 



I recognizing the added responsibility that an ever grow^ing business must I 



= bring \vith it, we have built our organization accordingly, andcanas- m 



i sure our patrons of efficient and satisfactory service. 1 



I We will continue to handle a complete line of Carter's Tested Flower i 



I and Vegetable Seeds, which for a century have been renowned for their 1 



I very high quality and pedigree. A special department for this branch | 



i of the business will be maintained at Boston. 1 



CARTER'S TESTED SEEDS, Inc. 



102 Chamber of Commerce Building, BOSTON, Ma**. 



Nmr York OfllM. 25 Wut 45th St. (UnUl Feb. 15, 1920): 25 Wat 43rd St. (After Feb 15, 1920) 



Toronto Office, 133 King Street East. Toronto, Ont. 



Branch of Jo*. Carter A Company, Raynes Park, L..ondon, Eng-land 



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length, but one very important point may 

 he mentioned : never allow inoculated seed 

 10 be e.xposed to sunlight, therefore when 

 it is sown one man should drop the seed 

 and another follow immediately behind 

 for the purpose of covering it at once. 

 While it is thus perfectly easy to put these 

 bacteria into the soil, it is of little use 

 doing so unless the conditions for the 

 .urowth and activity are right both for 

 them and for the plants. A non-acid soil, 

 drainage, thorough and deep cultivation, 

 plenty of humus, a supply of lime, pho.";- 

 phates, etc., all these have to be provided, 

 and by the time this has been done the soil 

 has been so greatly improved that inocu- 

 lation is very often unnecessary. In any 

 case inoculation can do no harm and may 

 do good, liut a large increase in the nitro- 



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