348 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of an acre I didn't have a bushel of onions. They were all fail- 

 ures, all burned up, while Professor Haglund said that on the 

 ground adjoining, manured with stable manure, there was a very- 

 fair crop. He said you couldn't use commercial fertilizer to 

 advantage in a dry season, but the next season with the normal 

 amount of moisture we had good success. The first year you 

 could see bare places in the patch a way off, and it was four years 

 after that before the plot showed up very good. 



Mr. Perkins: You think then that the use of commercial 

 fertilizer was detrimental? 



Mr. Gibbs : It was detrimental, and it was four years before 

 that was overcome. 



Mr. Perkins: That is strange, but I believe that the com- 

 mercial fertilizer is not very thoroughly understood even by the 

 most experienced experiment station. I think they have a good 

 deal of doubt and misgiving as far as I can make out. 



Mr. Black: In my experience I find that we cannot tell 

 just immediately, that is, the year we use the commercial fer- 

 tilizer and the stable manure, we cannot form our conclusions 

 which is the most profitable, because when we use stable manure 

 we are giving humus to the soil, and when we are using commer- 

 cial fertilizer the humus that is in the soil is steadily wasting 

 away, and ground that does not contain a lot of humus re- 

 quires moisture. We must give credit to the stable manure for 

 the humus. 



Mr. Perkins: I think it is generally said that to get good 

 results from commercial fertilizer it is necessary that the land 

 should be rich in humus. 



Mr. McBroom : I would like to ask if there is any market 

 for the new Chinese vegetables, especially Chinese celery and 

 Chinese cabbages? 



Mr. Perkins: I believe the market is going to be enlarged 

 every year. The people like them, but the great drawback is the 

 high price. Retailers charge a good price. 



Mr. McBroom: Does the grower get a fair division of the 

 profit? 



Mr. Perkins: I don't know, it is still somewhat in the 

 experimental stage. There isn't enough raised, and it takes a 

 long time to educate people to the use of a new article; the 

 retailers are afraid they won't sell. Swiss chard, for instance, 

 you don't see on the market at all. I raised some here, but I 

 couldn't sell enough to pay for the seed. 



Mr. Rasmussen: I think the price runs about like that of 

 head lettuce. 



Mr. Perkins: Head lettuce retails pretty high just now 

 because there is no home grown product, but in the summer time 

 head lettuce retails around five cents a head, good head lettuce. 

 I don't know what they charge for the Chinese cabbage, but, as I 

 say, people are not used to it. I don't think there is any fixed 

 standard. 



Mr. Underwood : Is it practicable and easy to grow head 

 lettuce? 



