FERTILIZERS 



the effect of whatever fertilizer you make use 

 of. Experiment cautiously, and be always on 

 the lookout for results. 



There are, as has been said, a great many 

 fertilizers on the market, advertised as plant- 

 foods in most instances. Great merits are 

 claimed for them, and amateur gardeners who 

 are ambitious to make their plants excel those 

 of their neighbors are tempted to invest in 

 them. Some are really good, and others are 

 positively bad, because, instead of being really 

 foods they are simply stimulants. Their use 

 may excite the plant to action, temporarily, 

 but reaction is sure and speedy, because the 

 energies of the plant have been spurred to a 

 degree not warrantable by the vitality of it. 

 Such so-called "foods" and fertilizers ought 

 not to be used. When you read of any adver- 

 tised to do wonders among the plants in your 

 window, do not give them a trial until you 

 have assured yourself of real value in them, 

 and this can only be done by letting some one 

 else give them a test. If you wait for this, the 

 probabilities are that you will not make use of 

 them, for those who test them seldom feel justi- 

 fied in giving any testimonials in their favor. 



"But," some one may say, "how are we to 



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