138 MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY 



" I am of the opinion that with South American 

 guano, which contains 3 per cent nitrogen, lYi to 

 3 per cent potash, and about 18 per cent phosphoric 

 acid, built up with sulphate of potash 6 to 8 per 

 cent, is a very efficient, safe fertilizer to use. I 

 used this on a portion of my crop last year, with no 

 barnyard manure, and had very nice, smooth fruit, 

 and a liberal supply. On another portion of the 

 crop I used well-decayed barn manure, with an 

 ounce of soda to the plant, and picked during the 

 fruiting season continuously from this lot. At the 

 last picking, about August 20, I picked an ii-quart 

 basket of as fine fruit as I had at any time during 

 the season. Further tests will have to be made to 

 determine just what fertilizers are the best and 

 most profitable to use on tomatoes. 



" Cabbage is started under glass and moved on 

 flats, giving it about 3x3 inches space, and watered 

 once a week with manure water, to which has been 

 added 2 to 3 pounds of guano and i of soda. If the 

 plants need further watering during the week 

 I give them clear water alone. Cabbage is 

 a gross feeder, and plenty of nitrogen should be 

 given to make good, strong plants. I am fully con- 

 vinced that a week to ten days can be gained 

 in earliness of the crop if the plants are strong to 

 begin with in the field. The soil should be very 

 rich, well cultivated and conditioned before plant- 

 ing, and immediately after planting soda should 

 be applied around each plant to the amount of at 

 least one-half ounce, and hoed or cultivated m with 

 a fine-toothed cultivator. 



" In the course of a week I generally sprinkle about 

 the same quantity of soda in the rows again around 

 the plants, but a little farther away from the stem. 

 Again, about June i, another sprinkling of about 



