Food for Where'stable manure is used in addition to the fertilizers, 

 P^^"^^ all the Nitrogen applied should be in this form, and in 

 ^ most cases it is better to have it all in this form, whether 

 manure is used or not. 



_ r^ Kk The best fertilizer is a mixture of equal 



r. /-. • parts of Nitrate of Soda and superphos- 



Beets, Onions, ^, , ■ i \ v. \ a w ^-^ 



P P phate (acid phosphate). A small quantity 



' * of muriate or sulphate of potash should be 

 added when the land is naturally poor or sandy. The pro- 

 portion of Nitrate to superphosphate can be varied accord- 

 ing to the kind of soil and previous manuring of the land. 

 Land on which barn-yard manure has been used in con- 

 siderable quantities for a number of years, and on mucky 

 land full of decaying vegetable matter, the proportion of 

 Nitrate should be smaller than on sandy land or on land 

 that has not been manured properly and contains only a 

 small amount of vegetable matter. Bearing these facts in 

 mind, it is easy to judge about what proportion of each ma- 

 terial to use on the different kinds of soil. 



,, . , In applying fertilizers it should be re- 



How to Apply L J L . r c \^ \. ^\^ 



^ ... membered that any form or phosphoric 



Fertilizers. ., , -ju u ^ x \ ^a 



acid, such as acid phosphate, dissolved 



bone-black, or bone meal is only partially soluble, and will 

 not circulate in the soil. These fertilizers should therefore 

 be evenly distributed over the soil and well mixed with it. 

 This is usually best done by applying broadcast before sow- 

 ing the seed and before the ground is thoroughly prepared. 

 In this way it gets well mixed with the soil. 



Nitrate of Soda, on the other hand, is extremely solu- 

 ble, and will diffuse itself throughout the soil wherever 

 there is enough moisture to dissolve it. It can therefore 

 either be applied with the phosphate before sowing the 

 seed or be scattered on the surface of the ground after the 

 plants are up. This latter method is usually the best. 



T. ,, , The best way is to scatter the fertilizer 



For Melons, r r j ^u u-n a r v 



^ . . for two feet around the hills and rake it 



Cucumbers and . , -i -.u . \ a i 



J. , into the soil with a steel garden rake. 



' This not only mixes the fertilizer with the 



soil, but it loosens the ground and kills all small weeds 



that are coming up. 



For other crops, see pages i6 to 31. 



