82 ASPARAGUS 



and it was therefore generally believed that liberal 

 quantities of salt were a necessity to its successful 

 growth. Experience has shown, however, that its 

 presence is not at all necessary' for its growth, and 

 that the reason that a bed to which salt has been 

 applied shows quickened and improved growth is that 

 the salt dissolves out of the soil plant food which, 

 without the presence of the salt, would have become 

 too slowh' reduced to available condition for producing 

 good crops. The salt acfled pradlically as a stimulant 

 and added nothing except chlorine and soda, neither 

 of which in any considerable quantity is essential for 

 growing this crop. It is this dissolving acftion that 

 takes place in the soil whenever any soluble salt or 

 fertilizer, like kainit, potash salts, acid phosphates, 

 etc. , be applied to the soil, that is often mistaken for 

 a manuring one. The result is an exhaustion, not a 

 strengthening, of the soil. The crop is grown at the 

 expense of the limited supply of food that the soluble 

 salt can adt upon. The fertilizer has adled practically 

 as a stimulant." 



