Gardening for Amateurs 



369 



base lime, which is in itself useful, the 

 manure is powerfully beneficial to all crops. 

 Both these salts must be kept dry ; they 

 absorb moisture readily, hence they soon 

 pass through the soil in solution. This 

 property makes them liable to be washed 

 away in wet weather, but if a gardener is 

 always careful to apply the requisite amount 

 in three or four dressings instead of a large 

 one, there is not the same risk of loss. 

 X itrate of ammonia is a highly concentrated 

 but expensive manure best applied as a 

 liquid, 1 teaspoonful in 2 gallons of water. 

 Saltpetre, or nitrate of potash, yields nitrogen 

 and potash ; it is priced too high for general 

 use, but the amateur will find a pound or 

 two most useful. A teaspoonful per gallon of 

 water is a reliable liquid manure ; saltpetre 

 is the best form of nitrogen to apply to fruit 

 trees in April. 



Sulphate of ammonia and nitrolim must 

 be applied to the garden at or before the 

 time of sowing seeds, so as to allow the 

 necessary changes to take place in the soil 

 to bring the manure into available condi- 

 tion. They act slowly and are more lasting 

 nitrogenous manures than any of the above. 

 Soot contains about one-tenth of sulphate of 

 ammonia, thus forming a valuable fertiliser. 



Phosphatic Manures. Phosjtftonts acts 

 as an antidote to nitrogen, checking the 

 tendency of the latter to produce foliage 

 and forcing the development of flowers, 

 fruits, and seeds. SuperphospJtaie is the 

 best known manure for supplying phos- 

 phorus ; it is fairly quick in action, but 

 should be dug into the soil before planting 

 or sowing seeds, say in the beginning of 

 March. It can be had in several grades, deter- 

 mined by the percentage of soluble phos- 

 phate ; the best should always be used in 

 the garden, with a guarantee of at least 33 

 per cent. Superphosphates are acid in nature, 

 and for a wet, sour soil basic superphosphate 

 should be obtained ; this manure contains 

 an excess of lime and less phosphorus. Basic 

 slag is another phosphate containing lime ; 

 it can be used in all gardens, and as it acts 

 slowly must be applied in autumn or 

 winter. It is rlir.-ip. and fairly large amounts 

 may be employed. 



All bone manure* contain phosphates, 

 mostly in an insoluble form, as well as a 

 24 



varying amount of nitrogen. They must be 

 well incorporated with the soil, and under 

 such circumstances will afford a slow and 

 steady supply of plant foods. Bone manures 

 can be bought as flour, meal, J-inch and 

 |-inch bones, steamed bones, dissolved 

 bones, etc. ; the speed of availability depends 

 mainly on the fineness of division, but dis- 

 solved bones are much quicker in action than 

 the others. Guanos are generally classed as 

 phosphatic manures, although they contain 

 nitrogen and sometimes potash. Native 

 guano, the excreta of wild birds concen- 

 trated through long ages, is one of the best 

 fertilisers, but now almost unknown ; it 

 can be used for all crops and on all soils. 

 As it is always adulterated a guarantee of 

 20 per cent, phosphates and 8 per cent, 

 nitrogen and potash, at least, should be asked 

 for. Fish guanos are widely sold ; they 

 consist of the offal from the fisheries, dried 

 and ground to powder. They do not keep 

 well, and often have an offensive odour, 

 accentuated with age ; the highest grade 

 should be used. The guanos can be used for 

 any crop, but they are specially suited for 

 herbaceous flowers and fruit bushes and trees. 

 Potassic Manures. Potash is an essen- 

 tial for all plant foods ; it does not seem 

 to perform any isolated function, but ex- 

 periments have clearly shown that without 

 potash the other salts are of no avail. Sul- 

 phate of potash is a pure salt for supplying 

 the element to the soil, but chloride or 

 muriate of potash is quite as useful. Theo- 

 retically the latter is sometimes objected to, 

 but in practice no difference is noticed, 

 and the muriate is a trifle cheaper, though 

 not commonly stocked. Hoe the manures 

 into the ground in February. Kainit is the 

 most common potash manure ; a quarter of 

 it consists of sulphate of potash, the other 

 substances being mainly sulphate of -mag- 

 nesia (Kjwom salts) and common salt. In 

 order to allow these two substances to drain 

 a\\ay. the manure is generally worked into 

 tin' soil ,i> r.uly as possible, even in autumn. 

 It has antiseptic and insecticidal properties, 

 which also recommend it, but it should be 

 k<-j>t I'ai'k frm the roots of jiro\\ ing plants. 

 l'ln>*i,liiiti of potfish is one of the most 

 valuable manures, as it npplies two neces- 

 sary ingredients of plant food ; it is ex- 



