A Simple ErXperiment WitK Fertilizers 





IT isTprobable that the problem most 

 troublesome to the average gar- 

 dener is the proper use of fertiliz- 

 ers. In a general way, most growers 

 gree on the value of fertilizers, but in 



or crop productiveness is made up of 

 many factors — mechanical condition, 

 warmth, ability to retain moisture, con- 

 tent of bacterial life and so forth — and 

 these are influenced bv the amount of 



Fertilizer Experiment with Radislies. Appearance of Plot One Week After Sowing Seed 



to 



actual practice satisfactory results are 

 not always attained. So many factors 

 enter into the proper methods of ap- 

 plication that oftentimes one is at a 

 loss to know what to do. Soils and 

 crops vary so widely in their demands 

 for fertilizers that random applica- 

 tions are of little or no avail. It is 

 necessary to consider the use of arti- 

 ficial manures from all viewpoints be- 

 fore they can be applied with economy 

 and intelligence. 



For general use it is usually advis- 

 able to apply one of the so-called com- 

 plete fertilizers, such as barnyard man- 

 ure or one artificially prepared. If a 

 luxuriant growth of stalk and leaves 

 is wanted in the crop rather than roots 

 and fruit, an application of nitrogen 

 in some form usually is needed. Should 

 the soil be producing leaves and stem 

 at the expense of fruit and root, nitro- 

 geneous fertilizers should be withheld 

 or used sparingly, and potash or phos- 

 phoric acid, or both, used instead. 



Rightly used, artificial fertilizers are 

 a valuable means of furnishing more or 

 less immediately available food for 

 crops. It must be remembered, how- 

 ever, that plant food alone does not 

 completely solve the problem of soil 

 fertilitv. Supplying plant food is onlv 

 half the battle. In addition to the 

 presence of available plant food, fertility 



humus present. Believing this, and de- 

 siring to assist those gardeners who 

 are not acquainted with the character 

 of fertilizers and their use. The C.\n.\- 

 DiAN Horticulturist conducted a 

 simple experiment that may be of in- 



terest. The work was done not with 

 the idea of presenting anything new, 

 but to illustrate the action of a few 

 fertilizing materials, complete and spe- 

 cial, on vegetable crops. It may serve 

 as an object lesson to those gardeners 

 who hear and read about the action 

 of fertilizers and are not convinced. 

 The crop chosen was radish; the soil, 

 light sandy loam. 



PLAN^OF EXrERIMBNT 



The plan of the experiment was 

 simple. It could be duplicated easily 

 on the home soil of any professional or 

 amateur gardener. In August a plot of 

 ground about fifteen feet long by eight 

 feet wide was staked and made into a 

 good seed bed. Ten rows were marked, 

 each eighteen inches apart, and num- 

 bered. Those with odd numbers were 

 not fertilized and served as checks. 

 The even-numbered rows received ap- 

 plications of fertilizers. Row No. 2 

 was treated with nitrate of soda at 

 the rate of 100 pounds an acre. Rov/ 

 No. 4 was given superphosphate at 

 the rate of 400 pounds an acre. Row 

 No. 6 was intended to be fertilized with 

 muriate of potash at the rate of seventy- 

 five pounds to the acre, but, by mis- 

 take, an apphcation of potassium 

 chlorate (K CI O^.) was given instead, 

 with the result shown in the accom- 

 panying illustrations. Row No. 8 Avas 

 treated with Arnott's Garden Manure. 

 Row No. 10 received a good dressing 

 of well-rotted barnyard manure. All 

 the fertilizers used in the work were 

 kindly furnished gratis to The Caxa. 

 DiAN Horticulturist by Dr. Arnott- 



Same Plot From Another Viewpoint. Two Weeks After Sowing Seed 



273 



