December 14, 1912 



HOKTICULTUEE 



853 



:f^or 



HEWS STANDARD POTS 



99 





POT MAKERS FOR 140 YEARS 



WORLDS LARGESTMANUFACTURERS 



Pearson Street 

 LONtt ISLAND CITY, N. Y. 



WRITE FOR CATALOGUE AND DISCOUNTS 



A. H. HEWS & CO., Inc. 



Main Office and Factorlas* 

 CAMBftlOGE, MASS. 



aging two, three and four feet down. 

 And the subsoil is sometimes richer in 

 certain ingredients than the surface or 

 top soil. 



Seeing these figures a man taking up 

 farming who was not familiar with 

 agricultural or horticultural pursuits 

 would think it superfluous to add any 

 more of these elements to his ground. 

 When his fields contained already 

 nearly two tons P2 05 in each acre 

 and over three tons K2 0, of what 

 earthly use would it be to add a paltry 

 25 or 50 pounds more? Why, it would 

 be lost. A chemist with the most ac- 

 curate and careful analyses could 

 never find it. It would be money 

 thrown away. 



But we know from practical ex- 

 perience that ninety-nine times out of 

 a hundred his crops would be increased 

 more than enough to pay for the ma- 

 nure or fertilizer added. We know 

 that in spite of these figures, which 

 there is no reason at all to doubt, soils 

 <Jo need fertilizing, they do play out, 

 that farms do run down and become 

 unproductive. And only by feeding can 

 the soil be kept up to Its fertility. So 

 we cannot be governed by a chemfcal 

 analyses as to the different elements 

 our soils need. The only way is by 

 trials, experiments and careful obser- 

 vation. 



The most important thing in consid- 

 ering a soil, to my mind is the mechan- 

 ical condition. Is it too stiff or too 

 light for your purpose? Has it enough 

 humus or organic matter incorporated 

 in it? The proportions of clay, loam 

 and sand can be readily ascertained in 

 a laboratory with a simple apparatus, 

 the percentage of humus can also be 

 ascertained by analysis. But a practi- 

 cal man can judge a soil very closely 

 by feeling it and observing how it 

 works. Fortunately for the florist, he 

 uses a comparatively small amount of 

 soil, measuring it by the load Instead 

 of the acre, and can afford to amend or 

 ameliorate his soil and so change its 

 mechanical condition to suit his par- 

 ticular needs. In all probabilities, the 

 greatest necessity will be humus. The 

 cheapest way to add this is by plowing 

 under a growing crop. Legumes are 

 always preferable for green manuring 

 as it is called, because they increase 

 the amount of nitrogen in the soil and 

 nitrogen is the most expensive element 

 of plant food we have to buy. It is 

 well to lime the soil before sowing a 

 crop to be turned under, as adding a 

 large quantity of green material is apt 

 to sour the soil for a little while, also 

 the legume family do better in soil that 

 contains lime. It seems to be neces- 

 sary for the proper development of the 

 bacteria which cause the nodules to ap- 

 pear on the roots of clover and the 

 other legumes. 



Soils, generally, have the power of 

 fixing the plant food added to them. 

 By fixing, we mean holding the food in 



DREER'S "Riverton Special" Plant Tub 



Manufactnred for us excinslvely. The best tub ever Introdnced. The neatest, lightest 

 and cheapest. Painted green, with electric welded hoops. The four largest sizes have 

 drop handles. 



HENRY A. DREER, ''"iis. Plants, Bulbs, anil Supplies, 714 Chestnut street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



such a state that it cannot be washed 

 out by the rain. This is time of phos- 

 phoric acid and potash, but nitrogen is 

 very easily lost by leaching in the form 

 of nitrates and under certain conditions 

 escaping into the air as free N. Tbe 

 best way to hold the nitrogen is to 

 keep the fields filled with growing 

 crops, catch crops as they are called. 

 Tbese make use of the nitrogen and 

 return it to the soil when plowed un- 

 der. But it is only the clovers and 

 others of that family that add more 

 nitrogen than was originally in the 

 soil. Clays hold the plant food more 

 firmly than sandy soils and the same 

 is true of moisture. Humus also helps 

 to hold the moisture by absorbing it 

 in the same way a sponge does, while 

 clay holds it by surrounding it as 

 though it were in a cup. 



Oxygen or fresh air is very necessary 

 to the soil to promote the growth of 

 the innumerable bacteria that are al- 

 ways present in a fertile soil and to 

 assist the chemical reactions that are 

 continually going on. When the water 

 in soil evaporates or is used by the 

 plant, air rushes in to take its place. 

 When more water is added, air and 

 any injurious gases which may have 

 been formed is driven out, and when 

 this water is gone more fresh air is 

 taken in. Also fresh air is taken into 

 the soil at night. When the evening 

 comes on, the soil cools and shrinks 

 and air is drawn in to fill the vacant 

 spaces. The opposite occurs when the 

 soil grains expand with the heat in the 

 morning. So you might say that the 

 soil takes a breath once every twenty- 

 four hours. 



PATENTS GRANTED. 



1,045,847. Greenhouse. Carl Ickes, 

 Chicago, 111. 



1,046,143. Split - Carnation Mender. 

 John N. Bommersbach, 

 Decatur, 111. 



1,046,271. Weeder. Ulysses G. Col- 

 well, Paha, Wash. 



1,046,295. Fertilizer-Mixer. Harry G. 

 Hersey, Greenville, Me. 



INCORPORATED. 



Berlin, Md. — Atlantic Nursery Co., 

 Robert J. Strowell, president and treas- 

 urer; D. W. Babcock, manager and 

 secretary. 



1000 READV i-ALl-.i^ij URATES 



STANDARD FLOWER PGTS AND BULB PANS 



can be shipped .it an hour's notice. Price 

 per crate: 



L'(i()0 1^^ in. @ $6.00 .500 4 in. @ .$4 .50 

 1-.IKI 2 •• " 4.8S 4.56 4y, '• - 5 24 

 moo 214 •' " 5.25 320 5' " •• 4.51 

 1.500 24 ■' •• 6.00 210 .5V. " •• 378 

 ICKHI 3 " " 5.110 144 6 ' •• " s'lS 

 SOO 3% •• •' 5.80 120 7 •' " 4 •>0 

 60 8 " " 3.00 

 HILFINGER BROS., Poll»ry, Fori Edward, N.Y. 

 August Rolker & Sins, 31 Barclay St., N. Y. City, Agents 

 flUBSPECULTY— long Distance and exinrt trade 



f— STANDARD FLOWER— i 



If your si'Penbouses are within .500 mile.s 

 of the Capitol, write us, we can save 

 you monev. 



W. H. ERNEST 

 >-« 28th & M Sts. Washington, D. C. ^ 



Syracuse Red Pots 



With new and Improved machinery, we caa 



sopply your wants to better advantage 



than ever. 



Special dUconnts on Iar£:e orders. 



Syracuse Pottery Co., Syracuse 



ETROPOLITAN 

 ATERIAL CO. 



PATENTED 



Greenhouse Boilers and 



Construction Material 



Picase Send for Catalogue 

 and Prices, 



1392-1414 METROPOLITAN AVE. 



BROOKLYN. N. Y. 



TIME TO USE 



IVI 



I 



We eu-e the Boston Agents 



Joseph Breck & Sons Corp. 



4?. 54 No. Market St., BOSTOH, MASS. 



TBE FLORISTS' BAIL ASSOCIATION OF 

 AMERICA, insarer o( 32,500,000 sq. ft. oi glasg 



For particulars address 



John G. Esler, sm> Saddle River, N.J. 



