OUR MOUNTAIN GARDEN 



always procure it from a neighbouring 

 farmer who merely calls it " phosphate/' 

 and nothing else. But it is a gray, pulver- 

 ized material, which smells like the worst 

 of pigs, and has to be kept in a covered 

 box in the shed, because it quickly absorbs 

 the moisture of the atmosphere if exposed 

 to it, and loses its own virtue besides. It 

 costs a dollar and seventy-five cents a bag, 

 and one bag is all I use during a season. 

 One can use it altogether, instead of ma- 

 nure, but in that case it should be put on 

 and forked thoroughly into the soil three 

 times during the season, as it has not the 

 staying qualities of good manure, though it 

 is more stimulating. 



Great care must be taken in all fertiliz- 

 ing that the fertilizer used does not come 

 directly in contact with roots or bulbs, for 

 it will injure them. A layer of plain earth 

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