90 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



April, 1913 



sent them as far as Boston and Mon- 

 treal with complete satisfaction. 



It might be of interest to mention that 

 last season was my best. Some idea of 

 the heavy yield I obtained may be gain- 

 ed when it is stated that within a dis- 

 tance of about eight inches on a branch, 

 enough berries could be picked to fill 

 one's hand. Also one berry, the largest 

 I ever grew, was four inches in circum- 

 ference. I attribute this exceptional 

 yield to the cool weather of the spring 

 and the abundance of rain throughout 

 the summer. 



I cannot give the names of all the 

 varieties with which I have experiment- 

 ed, as these number about sixty ; but 1 

 can give the names of thirteen which I 



can confidently say will give good re- 

 sults under the conditions described. 



These are : Soutar Johnny, Plunder 

 Green, Hit or Miss, Stella Yellow, Post- 

 man White, Haunham's Industry Red, 

 Careless White, Stockwell Green, Clay- 

 ton Red, Lord- Dudley Red, Lancashire 

 Lad Red, High Sheriff Yellow, Golden 

 Purse. 



It would be hard to draw any com- 

 parison between these varieties, but I 

 believe that Postman White, Haunham's 

 Industry Red, and High Sheriff Yellow 

 have given me the most satisfaction. As 

 I would like to see more engaged in this 

 branch of horticulture, I will give any 

 further informtaion that I can to anyone 

 who is interested. 



Further Facts on Fertilizers^ 



J. B. Dandeno, B.A. (Quee: 



IN continuing the discussion on fertil- 

 izers, I have but one aim, namely, to 

 give information to the tiller of the 

 soil. Referring to Mr. Emslie's state- 

 ment, "I still maintain that the theory 

 of plant excretion, in its bearing on soil 

 fertility, was long ago discredited," and 

 also to Mr. Innes' statement that "the 

 use of fertilizers is no longer baffling," 

 let me give a few quotations. Bui. 77, 

 "Soils," U.S. Dept. Ag., 1911, p. 3: 

 "The action of fertilizers on soil is a 

 much contested question, but the weight 

 of evidence is against the assumption 

 that their effect is due altogether to the 

 increase of plant food." Also (referring 

 to plant excretions), Bui. 87. 191 2, p. 

 69: "The results of these investigations 

 show clearly that the soil contains com- 

 pounds beneficial to plant life as well as 

 compounds injurious to proper plant de- 

 velopment," and further, "The know- 



•This article was written for publication in the 

 March issue, and. therefore, is not intended oe 

 a rpDly to the article on fertilizers that appeal^ 

 ed in that issue— Editor. 



ns), A.M., Ph. D. (Harv.) 



ledge that harmful organic compounds 

 exist in soils, plays so prominent a part 

 in plant life, is of fundamental signifi- 

 cance in soil fertility and gives a 

 breadth of view to the subject, which, 

 in its horizon, can not be compared with 

 the restricted vision imposed by the 

 purely mineral considerations." In Bui. 

 194, p. 108, LT.S. Dept. Ag. (Lipman), 

 is this statement: "Future research will 

 teach how the bacterial flora is affected 

 by crop rotation. We shall learn many 

 an instructive lesson to turn to good ac- 

 count in crop production . There is for 

 each soil a condition of highest bacter- 

 ial efficiency." 



Quoting from Mr. Innes: "Most 

 certainly the value of a fertilizer which 

 is primarily a source of plant food does 

 not depend on its own biological char- 

 acters." It certainly does def)end upon 

 ■ts bacterial flora. What would a load 

 of stable manure be worth if sterilized? 

 Very little. And its value does not de- 

 pend on its so-called "food." Mr. Innes 



dcjes not seem to appreciate the fact that 

 there is a number of species of bacteria 

 (other than those on legumes) that ex- 

 tract nitrogen from the air, and increase 

 the nitrate contents of the soil. The 

 biological characters are of the utmost 

 importance. 



Also Rep. O.A.C. Exp. Union, 191 1, 

 p. 45 (Prof. Harcourt): "I would 

 strongly advise using these (artificial 

 fertilizers) in a small way at first so as 

 to demonstrate whether they can be 

 used with profit or not." In Farmer's 

 Bui. 245, U.S. Dept. Ag, 1907, p. 16: 

 "The fertilizer requirements of different 

 soils and crops in different sea-sons are 

 so little understood that we are not yet 

 in a position to make positive recom- 

 mendations that are of general appli- 

 cation. " 



These quotations are from soil experts 

 and show clearly that excretions of 

 plants are highly important factors in 

 soil fertility, and that the problem of 

 fertilizers is by no means a settled one, 

 as Mr. Innes seems to think. 



Mr. Em.slie raises the point that the 

 Geneva test is an isolated case. In 'a 

 sense it is, because there has been none 

 to compare with it. Life is too short 

 to obtain many such. There is none in 

 America on orchards, aside from this, 

 that is worth much. But I should pre- 

 fer one experiment where all the condi- 

 tions were guarded than one hundred 

 of the average tests. 



SOME TESTS 



But let me give you a few results 

 that are not isolated cases, taken from 

 Bui. 67, U.S. Dept. Ag., 1910: 



Oats — One thousand four hundred' 

 and eighty-three tests, for over forty 

 years, twenty-five different States, 

 twenty-three kinds of fertilizers, arrang- 

 ed singly, in combination of two and of 

 three or more. Cost of fertilizer taken 

 into account but not cost of applying ; 

 average loss per acre when fertilizers 

 applied singly, two dollars forty-six 

 cents ; when in combination of two, loss 

 one dollar sixty-five cents per acre; in 

 combination of three or more, loss is 

 six dollars fifty-four cents ; organic fer- 

 tilizer (tankage, etc.), loss five dollars 

 fourteen cents per acre. Price of oats 

 estimate at forty-seven cents per bushel. 



Hay — One thousand two hundred and 

 sixty-three tests, arranged as for oats, 

 and at nine dollars a ton ; fertilizers, 

 singly, loss per acre, one dollar ninety 

 cents ; in twos, loss one dollar forty 

 cents ; in threes, loss twenty dollars 

 seventy-two cents ; organic fertilizer 

 (tankage, etc.), loss five dollars fifteen 

 cents. 



.'\lfalfa — Forty-two tests, price ten 

 dollars a ton ; average loss per acre for 

 three or more, sixteen dollars forty- 

 eight cents. 



Rye — Fifty-four tests ; one fertilizer, 

 (Concluded on page 92) 



