Commercial and Special Fertilizers. 83 



The value of potash and bone meal is thus clearly shown, but the latter 

 does not contain nitrogen in sufficient quantity. I think Mr. Hale is cor- 

 rect in the opinion that he can secure better results by using at the same 

 time some nitrogenous manure, like fish scrap, guano, etc. If he had 

 heavy, cold, clay land to deal with, it is possible that he might find the 

 stable manure the cheapest and best in the long run, even at its increased 

 cost 



Mr. W. L. Ferris, of Poughkeepsie, writes to me that he has found 

 great advantage in the use of the Mapes & Stockbridge special fertilizers. 

 " My experience," he says, " is only as to strawberries, and on them I 

 would say that the result of applying equal values of manure stable and 

 commercial as to cost, would be from ten to twenty-five per cent, in 

 favor of the commercial, as a stimulant to apply in the spring, or, in small 

 quantities, to plants first starting. This does not apply to the first 

 preparation of the ground. In this direction I propose to experiment. 

 I have heretofore applied fertilizers early in spring by hand, distributing 

 it along the rows." 



Records of varying experiences, and the discussion of commercial 

 fertilizers, might be continued indefinitely, but enough has been said, I 

 think, to suggest to each cultivator unacquainted with the subject in what 

 directions he should seek success. If I were asked what is the one special 

 manure in which the strawberry especially delights, I should answer 

 unhesitatingly, the well decayed and composted production of the cow- 

 stable, and if the reader had seen Mr. Durand's beds of the Great Ameri- 

 can variety in bearing, after being enriched with this material, he would be 

 well satisfied to use it when it could be obtained. The vines of even this 

 fastidious berry, that falters and fails in most soils, averaged one foot in 

 height, and were loaded with enormous fruit. The subject may be 

 summed up by an extract from a letter of Mr. Alexander Hyde to the 

 New York Times : 



" Nitrates, phosphates and ammonia are good fertilizers, and just the chemicals 

 which most lands need, but plants require a good bed as well as good food. The 

 physical condition of the soil, as well as the chemical, must receive attention, and 

 we know of nothing superior to a well-made compost for furnishing both the chemi- 

 cal and physical conditions necessary for the development of our crops." 



