Fertilizers 63 



growers some years ago, asking what fertilizer had been 

 found most satisfactory, stable-manure was mentioned 

 oftener than any other material; wood-ashes was also much 

 in favor. The use of chemicals was less common then 

 than now and stable-manure would be the material most 

 likely to be used. It may not be the most economical, nor 

 even the best material to use under all conditions, but it 

 does give good results when properly applied. 



One wide-awake grower replied that a Planet Jr. cul- 

 tivator proved the best fertilizer with him. This is simply 

 a modified version of the old adage that "tillage is man- 

 ure," the full truth of which most of us have not yet come 

 to appreciate. Such plants as raspberries do not make 

 heavy drafts upon the soil. If therefore the physical 

 conditions of the soil can be kept right and the chemical 

 activities can be augmented, enough plant-food can be 

 unlocked from most soils to supply their needs. Tillage 

 does both of these and also assists to conserve moisture, 

 without which no plant-food can be available, since it can 

 only be used by the plant when in solution. 



The quality of ordinary stable-manure is very uncer- 

 tain, owing to differences in methods of feeding, and in the 

 treatment which the manure receives after it is made. 

 It commonly contains an excess of nitrogen. This, though 

 by far the most expensive element of plant fertility, and 

 one easily lost by leaching and evaporation, is required 

 in only limited quantities in the production of fruit. The 

 chances are, therefore, that in the use of large quantities 

 of stable-manure this expensive element is wasted. An 

 excess of organic nitrogen may also help to deplete the 

 soil of potash. When changed to nitric acid it combines 



