NATIONAL COUNCIL OF HORTICULTURE 47 



As the manufacturer puts into his machine the materials which 

 with proper care and attention turn into the finished product, so it is 

 with the grower producing his crop from the soil. 



The largest material necessary to produce any crop is moisture or 

 water, consequently no vegetable grower or market gardener can suc- 

 ceed without an irrigation plant. This is true in the field as well as 

 Binder glass, though under glass the water can be regulated according 

 co the requirements of the crop, while in the field the rains are often- 

 times so heavy as to cause more damage than benefit. 



The fertilizers are applied before the crop is planted and as the crop 

 to be grown demands. 



There is only one satisfactory complete fertilizer and that is stable 

 manure which is applied in such quantities as the crops require. 

 Wherever stable manure cannot be obtained it is desirable to use some 

 form of commercial fertilizer possessing the required amount of nitro- 

 gen and potash for that particular crop and soil, but for a general fer- 

 tilizer there is nothing equal to stable manure. 



Many wonder how the land can stand so much stable manure 

 applied many times a year and for many years without a rest, but it 

 does stand it and will produce the best of crops even after a con- 

 tinual treatment of forty or fifty years. 



There is however one complete fertilizer that has been used to some 

 extent the past two or three years and that is sheep manure. When 

 used as a top dressing for second crops in the houses I have found it 

 to be very satisfactory. It should be used sparingly, however, and only 

 in the pulverized form, which hastens its availability. 



Where stable manure is impossible to obtain sheep manure may 

 serve as a substitute better than the commercial fertilizer, as it is a 

 complete manure, thereby possessing all the elements necessary for plant 

 life. 



In the hothouses there are many insects, weeds, and fungi that get 

 into the soil and endanger the crop, but these are eliminated by a sys- 

 tem of sterilization or cooking of the soil at a temperature of 212 

 degrees. 



This process will renovate the soil and produce astonishingly large 

 and perfect crops. 



After sterilizing and getting the soil into perfect condition with an 

 application of 20 to 30 cords of manure the crop surely should grow 

 with proper care and attention. All crops require a certain amount of 

 light, heat, air and moisture and it depends wholly on the application 

 of these four items how well the crop will grow and how perfectly it 

 will mature. 



During the short days of winter we are deficient in light, but this 

 can be supplied by the use of electric arc lights which will quicken the 

 crop about 15 per cent. The air should be always pure and so regulated 

 by ventilation as not to hurt the growing crop by a draft. 



The heat is supplied by the sun and by steam conducted from the 

 boilers by pipes to all portions of the houses. The amount of steam 

 can be regulated by valves placed near the boilers, thus giving in each 



