214 JOTTINGS OF A GENTLEMAN GARDENER 



not properly ground up and mixed together, a matter of 

 considerable importance. 



There are many who are prejudiced against proprietary 

 fertilisers. They have perhaps come across a bad article 

 and they conclude that all of them are bad. That is not 

 so. I have come across some astonishingly good things, 

 and so will others if they have patience to try a few. 



The feeling against the use of these fertilisers is perhaps 

 caused by the idea that artificial manures of any kind 

 injure the soil. " I stick to humus," one keen gardener 

 said to me lately. " Humus from animal and vegetable 

 matter. I get on very well without any artificials at all, 

 and if I can I don't see why other folks shouldn't." But 

 the idea that artificial fertilisers poison the soil when 

 applied in moderation is quite a mistake. Overdoses will 

 do so, but ordinary applications may benefit both the soil 

 itself and the plants growing in it. My own work has 

 proved that the application of some of the proprietary 

 fertilisers and some of the simple chemicals are distinctly 

 advantageous, so long as there is humus in the soil ; and 

 the experiments of other gardeners on a larger scale confirm 

 this. 



There are two ways of applying artificial manures : 

 (i) during the autumn, winter, spring, and summer in a 

 dry state, and (2) during the summer dissolved in water. 

 Most artificial manures, including proprietary fertilisers, 

 are better applied in the spring or summer rather than in 

 the autumn or winter, but there are some exceptions. In 

 applying them in a liquid form always well water the 

 ground first, and then apply the liquid as I have already 

 described under Summer Feeding (Chapter XIX). 



CHEMICAL FERTILISERS. 



Compounds of Ammonia: The chemical name for 

 ammonia is ammonium. Its compounds used in the 

 garden are ammonium carbonate, ammonium chloride, 

 ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, and ammonium 



