48 A HOME VEGETABLE-GARDEN 



tion to the food supply during the development of 

 the vegetables makes the difference, in large 

 measure, between an ordinary garden and garden- 

 ing in scientific fashion. In the steady day-after- 

 day care of the garden, we must still keep in mind 

 that the correct amount of fertilizer applied at 

 the right time is what produces prize-takers in- 

 stead of ordinary vegetables. The knowledge of 

 what fertilizer is best for different stages of 

 development, how much to apply and when to 

 apply it, requires study, experiment and experi- 

 ence. The science of feeding plants is necessarily 

 inexact, especially because of the great variation 

 in soils and the uncertainty as to the entire food 

 content. To be sure of enough food, we must pro- 

 vide too much. At the same time, we know that 

 too much of one fertilizer applied to certain plants 

 makes rampant growth and little fruit. Equally 

 true is it that too great a proportion of another 

 will render the fruit coarse and fibrous and tough 

 and flavorless. Lacking enough of a special kind 

 of food, the fruit will not develop at all. We have 

 to keep in mind the interdependence of plant- 

 foods and observe development carefully, while 

 we study this important and fascinating problem 

 of the use of special fertilizers. 



A little further and more concrete comparison 

 of the special uses of these essentials to vegetable 

 growth may be of value, just at this point in our 

 study. We already know that plants growing 



