191; 



PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 



'9 



were always done instead of relying npon guesswork, cases of 

 overfertilization wonld not be so frequent, and just as satis- 

 factory crops would be grown. 



To giye an approximate idea of the total amount of plant 

 food, as well as the available plant food furnislied by horse 

 manure when mixed with the soil in various proportions for 

 use in the greenhouse, the following table has been prepared : — 



"A" represents one-half manure and one-half soil; "B," one-third manure and two-thirds 

 soil; "C," one-fourth manure and three-fourths soil. 



Wherever indications of overfertilization appear, the soil 

 should be leached out with hot w^atcr as soon as the crop is re- 

 moved. In fact, it is believed that a thorough leaching of 

 greenhouse soil at least once each year would be very beneficial 

 in removing excessive residual salines. The leaching may 

 sometimes be accomplished with water from which the chill has 

 been removed while the crop is still in the ground. Good drain- 

 age should alM^ays be provided whenever this is nndertaken. If 

 the conditions are not favorable for leaching, in case of the 

 cucumber crop, about 3 inches of fresh loam should be applied 

 to the surface of the bed and worked in lightly around the 

 plants. This promotes the formation of new roots and has 

 been knowm to save the crop. 



After the removal of the crop, from one-third to one-half of 

 the soil in the benches should be replaced with new loam before 

 replanting. The removed soil as well as the solution resulting 

 from leaching may be used to good advantage as a fertilizer on 

 out-of-door crops, and would probably prove equal to the aver- 

 age farmyard manure. 



