76 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Kenneth Finlaysou told of his experiment with mixing fertil- 

 izers. He said farmers have the brains, but not the experience, 

 to mix fertilizers. He uses extensively under glass a fertilizer 

 consisting of Canadian unleached wood ashes, guano, and soot; 

 this gives fine results. In the absence of soot he once used the 

 other two, which acted on one another in such manner as to liber- 

 ate the ammonia, and as it was a cold night the conditions were 

 such that the ammonia destroyed the leaves of all the roses to 

 which the fertilizer was applied. His point was that the manu- 

 facturers of fertilizers would not make such errors. 



Mr. Low said that ashes should not be mixed with any manure, 

 as it liberates the ammonia. 



Mr. Ware did not like the statement made by one speaker, that 

 market gardeners have no brains. There is no business in which 

 the chance to use the sciences is so marked as in market garden- 

 ing. He did not see any difficulty in mixing fertilizers ; all we 

 need is a barn floor and a shovel. Empty the bags of separate 

 materials, giving the proper percentage of each, and then mix. 

 The expense of mixing is about fifty cents a ton. The ammonia 

 is the most expensive part of fertilizers. Don't accuse us of 

 ignorance, Brother Stone. 



Mr. Stone answered that if we saw Mr. Ware's crops we 

 should understand his meaning. 



Mr. B. B. Butler said that he understands that it is the nitro- 

 gen which starts the leaf growth on plants. Why, then, do we 

 need to mix at all ? 



Mr. Ware replied that the mixing was merely a saving of the 

 labor of putting it on. You can put on three handfuls at a time 

 just as easily as one. 



Mr. Butler asked how much does going over three times amount 

 to? 



Mr. Ware said we put nitrate of soda on for the leaf growth, 

 and the rest to get the crop, so that we should apply the nitrate 

 of soda when the crop needs it. Phosphoric acid and potash are 

 not needed then. Apply the nitrate in small quantities. 



Dr. Crozier said there is one loss in artificial fertilizers which 

 has not been mentioned. If we buy a ton of superphosphate of 

 lime, what do we get ? At least fifty per cent of sulphuric acid 

 and water. The acid has united with the larger part of the lime 

 iis an insoluble sulphate, and the phosphoric acid is in the form 



