ARTIFICIAL FERTILISERS 213 



phosphate of lime and basic slag are generally included as 

 simple fertilisers though they are really mixtures of several 

 substances. 



Fertilisers which are said to be complete are often very 

 incomplete, but at times they may be what they are said 

 to be. For instance, there are two or three kinds of Hop 

 Manures which are useful for the garden, and although 

 they are generally included under artificial fertilisers they 

 are really vegetable manure reinforced with various 

 chemicals. These manures are extremely good and most 

 useful for the garden. Most of them, however, are too 

 expensive and too strong to be used freely ; and they are 

 of little use in hungry, sandy soil, which can swallow up 

 tons of humus, and cart-loads of marl and clay to every 

 acre. 



More usually, however, the words ' ' complete fertilisers 

 are misleading. The majority of proprietary fertilisers are 

 only complete in so much as they contain the four elements 

 essential to plant life nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and 

 lime. They do not contain the all-important ingredient 

 " humus," which is essential in any truly complete fertiliser 

 or manure. It would be unfair to recommend any 

 particular make of proprietary fertiliser in these pages, 

 and I should get into trouble if I expressed disapproval 

 of any particular make. But I must say a few words, 

 speaking very generally. 



I have carefully tried most of the numerous proprietary 

 fertilisers now offered for sale. Some have tempting 

 analyses printed on the packages and some have not. The 

 directions furnished with them have been as variable as 

 the kinds of manure. Sometimes one is directed to use 

 much and sometimes very little. 



I cannot say that all proprietary fertilisers or manures 

 which I have tried were good. Some were exceedingly 

 good, and some the reverse. In some cases the lack of good 

 results was certainly the fault of the makers, and in others 

 it may have been that my soil was not the soil they were 

 compounded for. In several cases the ingredients were 



