28 CELERY CULTURE 



of rotted manure may be applied every year if 

 available. 



In Florida and other localities where the celery 

 crop is matured during the winter months, it will be 

 necessary to apply the manure during the late win- 

 ter or in summer, and an early spring crop of toma- 

 toes or cucumbers may be grown on the land. The 

 commercial fertilizers are then applied while pre- 

 paring the land for celery in the autumn. 



Home Mixing of Fertilizers. — In the selection of 

 fertilizers it is desirable to know the form of each 

 of the elements as well as the percentage contained. 

 Nitrogen obtained in the form of nitrate of soda 

 will act more quickly than that obtained from 

 sulphate of ammonia ; phosphoric acid from dis- 

 solved bone is more available than the phosphate 

 contained in ground raw bone. Nitrate of soda 

 should be used frequently, but in small quantities, as 

 a top dressing after the celery plants are well estab- 

 lished in field or garden. Sulphate of ammonia, cot- 

 tonseed meal and bone should be applied before 

 planting and thoroughly intermixed with the surface 

 soil. By purchasing the ingredients and mixing to- 

 gether in the proper proportions it is possible to 

 save from $2.50 to $7.50 a ton, and at the same time 

 secure the elements in the desired form. The table 

 on pages 32 and 33 gives the percentages of the ele- 

 ments usually present in the several fertilizing in- 

 gredients, together with their customary prices a 

 pound for the element itself and the value a ton of 

 the ingredients containing it. 



Soils of different character require a variation in 



