THE CULTURE AND 



never give more than enough to bring about a 

 vigorous, healthy development. That is what 

 you should aim at always. I am aware that 

 the amateur will say right here that such advice 

 is vague. How much fertilizer is to be con- 

 sidered as "enough"? To this I can only 

 answer that it is impossible to lay down any 

 hard-and-fast rule as to quantity. Fertilizers 

 differ in strength. Soils differ in quality. 

 The owner of a Palm must find out how much 

 to use by careful experiment. Give a little, 

 and watch the result. Learn by observation; 

 but be careful not to overdo matters at the out- 

 set. It is better to keep on the safe side by 

 underfeeding than to do your plant an injury 

 by feeding it too much. If the new leaves that 

 appear are of a dark, healthy color and of good 

 size, with stalks slightly longer than those 

 which were on the plant when you bought it, be 

 satisfied. And be satisfied if your plant pro- 

 duces two or three good leaves a year. 



A word as to the kind of fertilizer to use. I 

 depend entirely on bone-meal. Some use liquid 

 fertilizer prepared from barnyard manure. 

 This is good, but it almost invariably breeds 

 worms in the soil. The bone-meal will not do 

 this, therefore I prefer it. In preparing soil 



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