196 GARDEN AND FARM TOPICS. 



to act as a temporary absorbent for the fertilizer. The 

 compost must be thoroughly mixed, and if Guano is 

 used, it being sometimes lumpy, it must be broken up to 

 dust before being mixed with the absorbent. 



The main object of this operation is for the better 

 separation and division of the fertilizer, so that, when ap- 

 plied to the soil, it can be more readily distributed. My 

 experiments have repeatedly shown that this method of 

 using concentrated fertilizers materially increases their 

 value, probably twenty per cent. The mixing should be 

 dpne a few months previous to spring, and it should, after 

 being mixed, be packed away in barrels, and kept in some 

 dry shed or cellar until wanted for use. Thus mixed, 

 it is particularly beneficial on lawns or other grass lands. 

 The quantity of concentrated fertilizer to be used is often 

 perplexing to beginners. I give the following as the best 

 rules I know, all derived from my own practice in growing 

 fruits, flowers, and vegetables: 



Taking Guano as a basis, I would recommend for all 

 vegetable or fruit crops, if earliness and good quality are 

 desired, the use of not less than 1,200 pounds per acre, 

 (an acre contains 4,840 square yards, and cultivators for 

 private use can easily estimate from this the quantity they 

 require for any area,) mixed with two tons of either of 

 the materials before recommended. If Bone Dust is 

 used, about one ton per acre should be applied, mixed 

 with three tons of soil or the other materials named. 



For market garden vegetable crops, in the vicinity of 

 New York, this quantity of Guano or Bone Dust is har- 

 rowed in after twenty-five or thirty tons of Stable Manure 

 have first been plowed in; so that .the actual cost of 

 manuring each acre is not less than $100, and often $150. 



When fertilizers are used alone, without being mixed 

 with the absorbent, they should be sown on the soil after 



