February, 1913 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



29 



Oxen a* Motive Power in a Nova Scotia Orchard. A Barrel Sprayer at Work 



I 



fertiilLzers are of mineral origin," to 

 which statement I still adhere. Mineral 

 phosphates are more extensively em- 

 ployed than any other fertilizer material, 

 and then basic slag, the potash salts, 

 sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda 

 are all mineral fertilizers. .A.lthough the 

 latter may have been produced partially 

 through the agency of organisms, it cer- 

 tainly contains no organic matter. 



Dr. Dandeno's assertion that I re- 



ferred to the soil constituents as "hash" 

 is not correct. I did not do so — not even 

 metaphorically. 



Like my opponent in this controversy, 

 I am quite willing to allow the plant to 

 "pronounce upon the value of a fertil- 

 izer." If the farmer finds that the use 

 of fertilizers increases production, he 

 will continue their use, even though he 

 may never be able to define ''pl.mt 

 food." 



The Use o! Commercial Fertilizers Defended* 



R. Innes, B.S.A., Manager Sandside Fruit Farm, Coldbrook, N.S. 



FERTILIZERS are to feed plants 

 those elements found by analysis 

 to enter into their composition and 

 which they do not obtain in sufficient 

 quantity from the soil or air ; to feed the 

 soil as well as the plants and in the 

 feeding of them to furnish those forms 

 of 'plant food' which experience has 

 shown to be best adapted to perfect 

 growth and yield. 



A 'plant food' may be defined as any 

 material applied as manure, whether it 

 is derived from natural or artificial 

 sources. Its value is determined by its 

 percentages of the three essential ele- 

 ments, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 

 potash, and the state of combination in 

 which these elements are held over or 

 in other words — their degree of availa- 

 bility. 



The "degree of availability" of the 

 plant foods contained in any mixture is 



*Thi8 article by Mr. Innes is Intended as a 

 reply to the article on " Common Fertilisers," 

 by Dr. J. B. Dandeno, of BownianTllI<>, Ont., that 

 appeared In the November iaene of Tlio Otuia^iftD 

 HortloiiKuri»t. 



the most important factor to be taken 

 into consideration, when comparing the 

 value of two fertilizers of the same an- 

 alysis. The guaranteed analysis does 

 not in any way signify what materials 

 are used to obtain the percentages of 

 nitrogen, or ammonia, available phos- 

 phoric acid or potash claimed to be pre- 

 sent. It is generally admitted by those 

 who look at the matter in a fair and 

 square way that a 

 mixture in which the 

 various plant foods 

 (with the exception of 

 potash) are derived 

 from different mater- 

 ials furnishing the 

 same essential ele- 

 ment but with vary- 

 ing degrees of avail- 

 ability is by far the 

 most satisfactory and 

 most economical for 

 general use. The ad- 

 joining cut will illus- 

 trate this point; 



In the upper section of the cut the 

 reader will notice that two materials, 

 nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia, 

 are indicated as sources of plant food 

 nitrogen. These materials are purely 

 nitrogenous in nature, so far as 'plant 

 food' is concerned. No matter whether 

 these are applied singly or together they 

 are very readily available: that is, the 

 plant food furnished by them is in such 

 a state that it is taken up by the plant 

 almost immediately the material is ap- 

 plied to the soil. A plant or crop is indi- 

 cated in four stages of its growth while 

 the shading graphically represents the 

 amount of 'plant food' at the plants' dis- 

 posal during the whole season. 



Owing to the high degree of avail- 

 ability of the two salts, nitrate of soda 

 and sulphate of ammonia, they will give 

 the plant a good start ; but, as the sea- 

 son progresses their effect is gradually 

 diminished (as indicated by the shading) 

 and as a result the plant has to do with- 

 out one of its most -important foods — 

 nitrogen — at the time it is filling out, or 

 producing its fruit. A fertilizer furnish^ 

 ing nitrogen solely in this form as a good 

 many of the home mixtures which are 

 recommended by tho.se solely interested 

 in the sale of certain raw materials do, 

 cannot be considered an economical or 

 satisfactory ohe to use, not only on ac- 

 count of the lack of desired plant food 

 at certain stages of the plant's growth 

 as already pointed out, but owing to the 

 obvious necessity of having to apply 

 such materials regularly either during the 

 growing season or year after year in or- 

 der to receive any l>enefits whateve*". 

 No beneficial effect is carried over from 

 one season to the other when such m,i- 

 terials as the above are used alone. 



On the other hand you will notice by 

 glancing at the lower section of the 

 same cut, that it is quite possible to 

 remedy the above state of affairs provid- 

 ing we demand our mixtures to be com- 

 posed of certain materials. Here wo 

 have represented a mixture in which tli<- 

 nitrogen instead of I^eing derived solely 

 from the in-organic sources, nitrate of 

 soda and sulphate of ammonia, is ob- 

 tained from a mixture of organic mater- 



