FEEDING CROPS. 



43 



juncture of the 

 stem and cap, 

 is not so man- 

 ifest as in some 

 others. In old 

 specimens the 

 pileus is usually 

 flat. 



Fig". 1094 ex- 

 hibits one of the 

 most striking- 

 Fig. 1993. Young Specimen and important 

 Marasmius Oreades. characteristics 



(U.S. Dept.of Agr.) r ..i- u 



' i' / ^ ' q{ 1^1^, g mush- 



room, and that is that the gills are rather 

 broad and wide apart, showing at the rim 

 of the larger specimens not more than ten 

 to twelve to the inch. ■ I draw special atten- 

 tion to this characteristic, because associa- 

 ted with it on our college grounds is a poison- 

 ous species, Marasmius ureus, closely resem- 

 bling" it in shape and size but differing mater- 

 ially inthe number and closeness of the gills, 



having from iwenty-five to thirty to an inch. 

 They differ also in taste. The true fairy ring 

 can be eaten raw and is quite agreeable to the 

 taste, in fact it has been described as"sweet, 

 nutty and appetizing, ' whereas the poison- 

 ous variety is rather 

 acrid to the taste. 

 Another species, Nan- 

 coria semiorbicularis, 

 said to be found some- 

 times in company with 

 Marasmius oreades, 

 but I have not yet 

 cuceeded in obtain- 

 ing it. Should any Fig. 1994- Marasmius 

 reader of the Horti- 

 culturist desire spec- 

 imens of Marasmius 

 oreades and Marasmius ureus at the proper 

 season, I shall be pleased to send them to 

 them. 



J. J. Hare. 

 Ontario Ladies' College, Whitby, Ont. 



Oreades Showing 

 the Gills. 



(C.S. Dept.of Agr ) 



FEEDING CROPS. 



fOR hundreds of years the common 

 practice in farming has been to feed 

 the soil rather than the crops grown 

 on the soil. So ancient is this practice that 

 it has become a fixed law, and many intell- 

 igent farmers even to this day continue to 

 enrich the soil without any considerable 

 reference to the crops to be grown thereon. 

 This is one of the most stubborn habits the 

 scientific agriculturist has to contend with ; 

 still, it must be understood that the science 

 of farming is so young that many of us well 

 remember the rather startling- propositions 

 of Liebig and Lowes, and with what incred- 

 ulity they were first received by the vast 

 majority of even the more intelligent classes 

 of farmers. 



All this brings us back to the main point, 

 the feeding of crops. Stated briefly, crops 



should be fed (fertilized) with reference to 

 the special needs of the crop. A soil in 

 good general condition is not sufficient of 

 itself, just as good farmers now know there 

 is no good general purpose in anything on 

 the modern farm. A soil black with humus, 

 and in excellent tilth, may answer very well 

 for certain crops, but these are the very 

 crops so common on such soils, and which 

 usually are but slightly profitable. The suc- 

 cessful modern farmer is one who quickly 

 learns what crops are to him most profitable, 

 and learns also how to make his soil produce 

 those very crops, whether they are common 

 to his neighborhood or not. 



The first thing to do in most cases is to 

 unlearn all the old ideas as to manures, soil 

 heart, etc., and to confine the idea of plant 

 feeding to the bare fact, now unquestionably 



