PRACTICAL GARDENING 



Of course, it must be handled with great care 

 and applied very sparingly. It is not an easy 

 matter to apply hen manure on account of the 

 moisture in it, but if kept in a dry place, mixed 

 with a limited amount of sifted coal ashes or 

 dry soil and pulverized as much as possible, it 

 may be scattered along the rows of growing 

 vegetables, or applied to the hills of beans or 

 corn. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 



All stable manures must undergo a change 

 in decomposition or fermentation before the 

 food is available for the plant, while many of 

 the commercial fertilizers go into solution 

 quickly in combination with water and are im- 

 mediately available as food for the plant. The 

 slow growth of beets, lettuce and other crops 

 often develops fiber and the vegetable is tough 

 or woody, while a little application of nitro- 

 gen, in the form of nitrate of soda, would 

 hasten the crop and prevent the growth of the 

 woody fiber. Also late crops may often be 



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