izers, for you are paying for a lot of useless 

 stuff which also costs for the handling and 

 carriage. Buy the best and use it intelli- 

 gently. 



ESTIMATING QUANTITIES FOR SMALL GARDENS 



All the books give good advice in the use 

 of fertilizers for the acre, but the average 

 home gardener wants to know the quantities 

 in terms of smaller dimensions. Five hun- 

 dred pounds an acre means 3.1 pounds to the 

 square rod or, roughly speaking, one ounce to 

 the square yard. To apply in liquid form 

 dissolve one ounce in a gallon of water. The 

 quantity given — 500 pounds to the acre — is a 

 safe quantity for all general purposes, for the 

 lawn, for ornamental trees and shrubbery. 



Plants like spinach, squash, cabbage, let- 

 tuce, onions, will take fully four ounces to the 

 square yard or 1,250 pounds to the acre. The 

 home orchardist can safely follow this table: 



Lbs. per Lbs. per Lbs. per 



Fruits plant sq. rod. acre 



Apples 5.5 3.8 600 



Blackberries 0.4 4.4 700 



Cherries 4.5 5.6 900 



Cranberries o . 25 3.1 500 



Currants 0.25 3.8 600 



Gooseberries 0.25 3.8 600 



Grapes 1.3 5.0 800 



Peaches 5.0 6.25 1,000 



Pears 5.5 3.8 600 



Plums 4.5 <; . 6 900 



Quinces 2 - 2 5 4-4 7°° 



Raspberries ° • 2 5 £ *-° 800 



Strawberries 0.4 10. o 1,600 



Scatter over an area under each plant equal 

 to the spread of the foliage and rake in, or 

 broadcast evenly over the entire surface and 

 harrow in. Do it at once. 



VALUE OF THE TFTREE ELEMENTS 



In nearly all states dealers in fertilizers are 

 bound by law to give a guaranteed analysis 

 with all fertilizers, and manufacturers gener- 

 ally have a statement attached to their goods, 

 no matter where they are sold. The pur- 

 chaser needs to take note only of the figures 

 relating to nitrogen, soluble or available 

 phosphoric acid and potash, and should see 

 that these terms are plainly stated, not being 

 involved with other terms, as, for instance, 

 "Nitrogen as ammonia." The point is how 

 much nitrogen — not how much ammonia, 

 which is only part nitrogen. In the high- 

 grade commercial fertilizer nitrogen should 

 be bought for about twenty-five cents, phos- 

 phoric acid for seven cents, and potash about 

 six cents. With these figures in mind and the 

 guaranteed analysis before you, it is easy to 

 arrive at the total value of plant foods. 



SOME PRACTICAL FORMULAS 



The guaranteed percentage for the analysis 

 multiplied by twenty and by the price per 

 pound of the material as given above will give 

 the value per ton, that the retail consumer 

 should not exceed when buying. The actual 

 values are fluctuating and cannot be stated 

 exactly; neither do they apply equally to all 

 forms in which valuable fertilizers can be 

 had. Each one must judge for himself, 

 merely taking these figures as guides. 



When a garden is large enough to have a 

 whole acre in one crop it would be better to 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



supply its special needs by a modification 

 of the stock fertilizer or by the purchase of 

 one specially prepared for the particular 

 crop. Succulent crops would be benefited 

 by an extra supply of nitrogen, especially in 

 the early part of the year. For such pur- 

 poses the quantity of nitrogen could well be 

 doubled. The i, 2, 3 formula is very rich in 

 potash, rather more so than prepared fertilizers 

 usually are, and the proportions would bear 

 reduction without any serious loss of yield 

 and growth. But potash gives richness — that 

 one factor in garden produce that should be 

 the incentive of the home gardener. Better 

 sacrifice quantity and size in the home garden 

 to better quality, to richness. The use of a 

 fertilizer rich in potash is therefore indicated. 

 It is for this reason that wood ashes alone are 

 so valuable in the home garden. 



A plot 100 x 100 feet, fertilized at the rate 

 of 300 pounds to the acre, will require seventy 

 pounds of fertilizer. This can be supplied 

 in any one of the four formulas here given. 

 The first two are calculated to furnish actual 

 plant food in the ratio of 1, 2, 3; the others 

 at the 2, 4, 5 ratio. 



FORMULAS FOR i: 2\ 



RATIO 



(a) Nitrate, rock and wood ashes 



Material Plant food 



lbs. lbs. 



Nitrate of soda 7 1 . 22 



Dissolved rock 8 2. 44 



Wood ashes 55 3 . 66 



70 7.32 



(b) Sulphate, bone and muriate 



Material Plant food 



lbs. lbs. 



Ammonium sulphate 19 3-835 



Boneash 30 7-65 



Muriate of potash 21 11 .505 



Cost 



&>-35 



0. 16 



1 . 10 



Si .61 



70 



23.09 



Cost 



Si. 33 

 0.60 

 0.84 



fc-77 



It is seen that the second table gives 23.09 

 pounds of actual food, more than three times 

 the quantity of the other, for less than three 

 times the cost. 



FORMULAS FOR 2: 4: 5 RATIO 



In these tables the same materials are used 

 as in the foregoing, the quantities only being 

 changed as necessary. 



(a) Nitrate, rock and wood ashes 



Material Plant food 



lbs. lbs. Cost 



Nitrate of soda 9 1 .40 So. 45 



Dissolved rock 9 2.80 0.18 



Wood ashes 52 3-5° x ■ °5 



70 7.70 Si -68 



(b) Sulphate, bone and muriate 



Material Plant food 



lbs. lbs. Cost 



Ammonium sulphate 20 3 . 98 $1.40 



Bone ash 31 7-9^ 0.62 



Muriate of potash 19 9-9° °-75 



70 21.84 $2.78 



The 1, 2, 3 formula, which is relatively 

 stronger in potash, has a very slight advan- 

 tage over the other, or 2, 4, 5 formula in the 



237 



matter of cost, and is preferred as an all- 

 around formula for the home garden, where 

 onlv one complete fertilizer will be used, 

 because of its extra strength in potash. 



The compound of ammonium sulphate, 

 bone ash, and muriate of potash is actually 

 the cheaper, but has its limitations — it is not 

 adapted to certain crops — potatoes and sugar 

 beets, for example, do not like potash in the 

 muriate form. The cost of the various 

 ingredients in actual practice will be found 

 to vary very considerably from the figures 

 quoted. The greater the quantity pur- 

 chased the smaller the price per pound, of 

 course. We have stated fairly high prices 

 which need not be exceeded ordinarily in 

 purchasing in moderate quantities. 



SUBSTITUTION VALUES 



Since it may be convenient to have the 

 different ingredients in still other combina- 

 tions, these relative values are given: 



Nitrogen. — One part ammonium sulphate 

 (97 per cent.) is equivalent to 1.3 14 parts 

 sodium nitrate (95 per cent.). One part 

 sodium nitrate is equivalent to .793 parts 

 ammonium sulphate. 



Potash. — One part wood ashes (10 per 

 cent, potassium carbonate) is equivalent to 

 .1284 parts chloride (muriate) of potash (85 

 per cent.). One part chloride of potash is 

 equivalent to 7.78 parts wood ashes. 



Phosphoric acid. — One part bone ash 

 (91J per cent, calcium phosphate) is equiva- 

 lent to two-thirds digested rock (75 per cent.). 

 One part digested rock is equivalent to six- 

 tenths part bone ash. 



On this basis we can substitute for the 

 fifty-five pounds of wood ashes in the 1, 2, 3 

 formula a, 7.069 pounds of muriate of potash. 

 This would give a very concentrated fertilizer 

 in small bulk and should be mixed with sand 

 for more easy distribution. A. Vinton. 



Tuberous Begonias for Bedding 

 in Shady Places 



ON the shaded north side of a house, 

 where the ordinary bedding plants will 

 not thrive, the tuberous begonia will give 

 the desired brilliancy of color. For quick 

 results set out started plants at intervals of at 

 least eight inches each way. Tubers may 

 be used instead of plants and should not be 

 planted until the end of May. The begonia 

 does best when not in full sunshine. It 

 needs a deep, rich, open soil, where the roots 

 can find abundance of food and moisture, 

 especially the latter, so must be watered 

 freely. Give water from a hose if possible, 

 soaking the ground thoroughly and fre- 

 quently in the early morning or at evening. 

 When the plants are well developed, cover 

 the surface of the bed with a good mulch 

 of very well-rotted manure, or, if it can be 

 had, a covering of sphagnum moss. As the 

 begonia flowers are very brightly colored, 

 the best effects will be had from planting in 

 beds with no other plants, unless it be a 

 mere edging of greenery. Scarlet is the 

 dominant color in the begonias, with some 

 few pretty shades of pink, white, and yellow, 

 and a mixture of all these is very pleasing. 



