88 THREE ACRES AND LIBERTY 



living near these towns are missing a chance to secure some- 

 thing for nothing because, perhaps, the profit is not 

 directly in sight. But from most soils there is a handsome 

 profit possible from a very small application of stable manure. 



While writing this, I saw a man in New Rochelle, N. Y., 

 dumping a load of street sweepings into a hole hi a vacant lot. 

 It would have been less wasteful to have dumped a bushel 

 of potatoes into the hole. 



Commercial fertilizers are coming more and more in use 

 by market gardeners, and with reason. If we examine a 

 good fertilizer, analyzing five per cent available nitrogen, six 

 per cent phosphoric acid, and 8 per cent potash, we shall find 

 that one ton of it contains, besides less valuable ingredients : 

 100 Ib. nitrogen, 120 Ib. phosphoric acid, 160 Ib. potash. 



Such fertilizers probably retail at forty to sixty dollars per 

 ton, and are fully worth it. All this plant food, and perhaps 

 one half more, can be drawn in a single load, while it will 

 take ten such loads of stable manure to supply the same 

 amount of plant food. 



There is no reason to be afraid of too much fertilizer, pro- 

 vided it is evenly distributed and thoroughly mixed through 

 properly prepared soil. Stinginess in this item is poor 

 economy. 



Nitrogen is the most essential food for plant growth. It 

 is an important element of plant food in manure. In ordi- 

 nary manure most of the value is due to the nitrogen, al- 

 though phosphoric acid and potash are also present. It is 

 found in the most available form in nitrate of soda. Nitrate 

 of soda will benefit all crops, but it does not follow that it 

 will pay to use it on all crops. Its cost makes it unprofitable 

 to use on cheap crops; but on those that yield a large re- 

 turn nitrate of soda is a very profitable investment. 



