FERTILIZERS. II 



surface with a harrow. I close this paragraph on manures 

 by emphasizing the utility of a thorough fining of it. I find 

 the Kemp Manure Spreader an excellent means for fining up 

 the manure, and distributing it evenly. 



FERTILIZERS. 

 "\ 1 JITHIN A FEW YEARS onions have been raised on many 



' ' farms, especially in New England, in part or wholly 

 by the use of fertilizers. These, as a safe rule, should contain 

 about the same quantity and proportion of phosphoric acid, 

 ammonia, and potash as exist in the composition of a large 

 crop of onions. This would require their application in the 

 order just given in the proportion of five, five and nine ; that 

 is, with every five pounds of soluble phosphoric acid we 

 should use five pounds of ammonia, and nine pounds of 

 potash. 



The quantity of the mixture to be applied will vary with 

 the condition of the soil, but a safe general rule is to use 

 from a thousand to two thousand pounds to the acre. In 

 applying this, I find it best to scatter about three-fourths of 

 it broadcast as soon as the land is ploughed, and harrow it 

 in, reserving the other quarter to apply just before the crop 

 begins to bottom, when I scatter it over the surface, and mix 

 it by going over the ground with the slide-hoe. Mixed fer- 

 tilizers especially prepared for onions can be purchased from 

 several reliable firms, such as The Bowker Fertilizer Com- 

 pany of Boston, or Mapes or Baker Fertilizer Company of 

 New York. 



Some of ray neighbors have raised several crops of onions 

 years in succession on the same piece of ground with suc- 

 cess, without using fertilizers specially adapted to the crop. 

 Mr. Ernest Longfellow of Newbury has raised a good crop 



