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J472 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



October 25, 1906. 



mand in another, although the distance 

 between the two might be but a few 

 miles. 



In our locality we find but a few 

 varieties outside of roses that we con- 

 sider profitable to force. There are, 

 however, a great variety that can be 

 forced at a good profit, especially in the 

 large eastern cities, where there is a 

 good demand for them, which means, of 

 course, good prices. 



With us, and I • think everyone else, 

 either east, west, north or south, the rose 

 is at the head of the list, and in my 

 opinion always will be. As to the best 

 varieties, I think they are too well 

 known for me to mention a long list of 

 them. 



Among other flowering shrubs those 

 that prove the most satisfactory and 

 profitable to us are hydrangeas, which 

 we force in large numbers for Easter 

 trade, and azaleas, one of the most pop- 

 ular and showy plants for Christmas 

 and Easter trade. 



Genista and syringa, commonly called 

 lilac, both are good for cut flower pur- 

 poses, and decorative as pot plants. 

 Rhododendrons are beautiful and usu- 

 ally in good demand. Metrosideros, or 

 bottle brush, is a showy Easter plant. 

 Among the spiraeas there are many varie- 

 ties which are very showy and easily 

 forced for Easter. 



There are, however, a number of other 

 varieties that are grown in large num- 

 bers where there is a demand for them. 



FERTILIZERS AND THEIR USE, 



[Continuation of a paper by Prof. U. Harcourt, 

 of the Ontario Agricultural College, delivered 

 before the Canadian Horticultural Association, 

 at Guelph, Ont., August 29, 1906.] 



Knowledge of Soil Necessary. 



As a rule, fertilizers should be looked 

 upon as adjuncts of farmyard and green 

 manures, and should be applied to make 

 up some deficiency in the soil, or to sup- 

 ply some constituent especially needed 

 by the crop grown. Consequently, it is 

 essential that the grower know some- 

 thing of the nature of the soil he is 

 handling, the needs of the plant, and 

 the functions of the various constituents 

 in fertilizers, before he can intelligently 

 and economically use these substances. 

 In addition to this, he must know some- 

 thing of the composition and the source 

 of the various constituents which go to 

 make up the fertilizer before he can 

 judge of its value and availability. 



Sources of Nitrogen. 



Nitrogen is the most expensive con- 

 stituent of fertilizers, and possibly, all 

 things considered, it is one of the most 

 useful. Dried blood, dried meat, dried 

 and ground fish, tankage, leather meal, 

 wool, hair, waste cotton-seed meal, etc., 

 are examples of substances which con- 

 tain nitrogen in an organic form. Some 

 of these, as dried blood and meat, read- 

 ily decompose in the soil; others, as 

 leather meal and cotton-seed meal, de- 



Potting and Packing House, Metairie Ridge Nttrsery G>., New Orleans. 



such as Ardisia crenulata, with its bright 

 red berries; the orange plant, Laurus 

 tinus, and erica in various varieties. 



The shrubby calceolaria, though not 

 so much grown as in former years, is a 

 showy plant. Gardenias or cape jas- 

 mine, though shipped from the south as 

 cut flowers, are decorative if grown in 

 pots. 



There are a number of other varieties 

 which might be mentioned, but as I have 

 had to prepare this list at brief notice 

 I fully realize it is not as complete as 

 it should be. 



Montgomery's book on Grafted Boses 

 sent by the Beview for 25 cents. 



Des Moines, Ia. — The new greenhouse 

 at the Iowa State Normal School is 

 completed. It cost $3,000. 



compose very slowly. As they are of 

 no service to the plant until they do de- 

 compose or rot, it will be readily seen 

 that the nitrogen in dried blood is worth 

 more per pound than that in leather 

 meal or any other substance which de- 

 composes slowly. Nitrate of soda and 

 ammonium sulphate are chemical com- 

 pounds containing nitrogen in a definite 

 and soluble form, and when pure they 

 always have the same composition. 



Forms of Phospfionts. 



The phosphoric acid in artificial 

 manures is derived from compounds 

 known as phosphates. Although phos- 

 phorus combines with lime, iron and 

 alumina, forming phosphates, the phos- 

 phate of lime is the one generally used 

 as the source of phosphoric acid in ar- 



tificial manures. The phosphoric acid 

 combined with organic substances, either 

 animal or vegetable, is as a rule more 

 quickly brought into an available con- 

 dition than that derived from rocks. 

 The organic matter also contains some 

 nitrogen. 



The phosphate of lime in bone and 

 rocks is not in an immediately avail- 

 able form. • To increase its solubility, 

 the various materials containing it have 

 been reduced to fine powder and are 

 sold as ground bone and ground rock 

 phosphate. The fineness of the state of 

 division affects quite appreciably the 

 solubility; consequently, the value of 

 this form of phosphatic manures will 

 vary considerably. 



Sources of Potash. 



Until the discovery of the mines of 

 crude potash salts in Germany, the 

 chief source of potash, other than that 

 found in farmyard manure, was wood 

 ashes. At present the supply of this 

 important constituent seems to be prac- 

 tically inexhaustible. It is particularly 

 valuable on light, sandy soils, and for 

 fleshy-leaved plants. 



G>mmercial Fertilizers. 



In addition to the purely nitrogenous, 

 phosphatic and potassic fertilizers, there 

 is a great variety of materials used as 

 manures which contain two or more of 

 these constituents. These substances 

 are subject to wide variations in com- 

 position and in the solubility of the 

 various fertilizing constituents. 



The various brands of fertilizers 

 found on the market are made up of 

 varying proportions of one or more 

 products from each class of fer- 

 tilizing material described. The man- 

 ufacturer is obliged to go to these 

 sources of supply. He may use dried 

 blood or cotton-seed meal as the source 

 of nitrogen; the phosphoric acid may 

 be obtained from ground bone, ground 

 rock phosphates or superphosphates, and 

 the potash from tobacco stems or from 

 some of the many forms of potash salts. 

 All of these materials differ in the rate 

 of decomposition; hence it is important 

 that the purchaser not only know the 

 percentage amount of the various ma- 

 nurial constituents in the fertilizer he 

 buys, but he should also have very defi- 

 nite information regarding their solu- 

 bility or availability to the plant. 



Different Grades on the Market. 



Generally speaking, it will pay the 

 intelligent user of fertilizers to buy the 

 materials and prepare his own fertil- 

 izer. He will find it cheaper, and he is 

 absolutely sure of what it contains. 

 Crops and soils differ in their require- 

 ments, consequently it is impossible for 

 any one mixture to suit a variety of 

 crops on different soils. 



Space will not allow of a full dis- 

 cussion of the meaning of high grade 

 and low grade fertilizers, and high 

 grade and low grade mixtures; but ^t 

 may be briefly stated that any material 

 containing a high percentage of one or 

 more of the essential fertilizing con- 

 stituents, in a form available to plants, 

 is termed high grade. 



Protective Laws. 



The government of Canada has done 

 what it can to protect the users of fer- 

 tilizers against a dishonest manufac- 

 turer or agent, for years ago it enact- 

 ed a law whereby every manufacturer 

 or importer of fertilizers shall, before 



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