CHAPTER XIII 



FERTILIZERS 

 Cow MANURE THE BEST 



AS fertilizing material in which to grow Roses there is 

 nothing to beat good fresh cow manure, if properly ap- 

 plied; when thoroughly incorporated into the soil it is safe to 

 use at any time. If used fresh, as a .top dressing, it should 

 always have a light covering of loam on top. It is not wise to 

 mix lime with cow manure when used for top dressing; too 

 much nitrogen is released at first when this is done, then it is 

 either wasted or, if too strong, is liable to injure the plants. 

 Manure from well fed dairy cows is best ; the same from cows 

 which are fed from the refuse of breweries should not be used, 

 as it has been condemned by experiment stations as poisonous to 

 Roses under glass. This fact does not seem to be generally un- 

 derstood. A case was called to my attention during the past 

 Summer where a number of Roses were killed by this manure. 



Good cow manure contains all the essential elements re- 

 quired in about the right proportion to produce good Roses, 

 and some large growers who have tried various fertilizers have 

 abandoned them all in favor of it. One grower went so far 

 as to state that if a man cannot grow Roses with plenty of 

 good cow manure at his command he had better give the at- 

 tempt up; while there is a lot of truth in this, the statement 

 may be modified somewhat for soils differ a great deal. 



Rotted or partly decomposed cow manure is good but has 

 lost a portion of its strength. Buy from a large barn to insure 

 freshness. 



