IMi 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Apbil, 19 18 



and costs less than half as much a ton, yet 

 its low availability in eastern soils lias pre- 

 vented its general use east of the Appalachian 



Mountains. 



If this method proves practical we may see 

 each cultivator making his own superphos- 

 phate- from rock phosphate and sulphur, 

 while the bacteria do the work for nothing 

 .nul hoard themselves. While it is too soon 

 to speculate on the practical use of this, yet 

 it seems probable that gardeners may be able 

 to mix in their compost heaps 5 per cent, or 

 every twentieth shovel of finely ground phos- 

 phate rock and one shovel in fifty of sulphur 

 with the expectation of producing available 

 phosphate cheaper than it can be bought as 

 superphosphate. At any rate we can hit the 

 high cost of fertilizers a body blow. 



Phosphates from Nitrates? 



ANOTHER most interesting investiga- 

 z *- tion along a similar line has been in show- 

 ing that the bacteria which cause nitrification 

 also cause the phosphates to become available. 

 This question has been debated back and 

 forth for many years. We have known in a 

 general way that ground rock phosphate is 

 more useful in soils rich in lime and organic 

 matter, such as are so often found in the corn 

 belt, but that the results have been generally 

 disappointing in the poorer soils of the At- 

 lantic coast. Acting on this knowledge it 

 was often assumed that rock phosphate is 

 soluble because of the presence of organic mat- 

 ter, and numerous attempts were made to make 

 raw rock available by mixing it with manure. 

 The results of mixing rock phosphate with 

 manure have been generally disappointing 

 and often negative, while its application to 

 humus-stocked fields generally gives good re- 

 turns. 



These facts instead of being contra- 

 dictory, seem to point to a close connection 

 between the dissolving of phosphate and 

 nitrification or the producing of nitrates. 

 Now the production of nitrates does not take 

 place in a manure pile even though decay does, 

 but only when the organic matter is well 

 mixed with soil. 



When we stop to think of it, we all remem- 

 ber that nitrification is the result of the ac- 

 tivities of three groups of bacteria, one of 

 which produces ammonia, the second turning 

 the ammonia into nitrous acid, and the third 

 changing the nitrous acid to nitric acid and 

 nitrates. In order to test this the three kinds of 

 bacteria were isolated and caused to grow in 

 nutrient solutions with no other kind of bac- 

 teria present to complicate results. To each 

 solution a quantity of finely ground insoluble 

 rock phosphate was added to see if it became 

 available. The first kind of bacteria broke 

 down the proteids and formed ammonia, but 

 had no effect on the phosphate. The same 

 was true of the nitrate bacteria. But in the 

 solution where the bacteria lived which 

 transformed the ammonia to nitrous acid, 

 there was a pronounced and steady increase 

 in the amount of soluble phosphate. 



This much seems clear; that the solution of 

 rock phosphate is closely connected with the 

 production of nitrates. It follows that if suf- 

 ficient phosphate is present in the soil any treat- 

 ment which promotes the formation of nitrates 

 will make available some phosphates. With 

 this in mind we have an added reason for 

 drainage in order that, as the air replaces stag- 

 nant water, the bacteria may multiply. If we 

 plant deeply and pulverize the soil we are giv- 

 ing air for the nitrifying germ which will also 

 set free phosphates. If our soil is sour we 



add lime not to feed our crops, but that the 

 soil may become wholesome for the friendly 

 bacteria which not only make the insoluble 

 matter into the necessary and easily lost 

 nitrates, but, as a by product of their work, 

 change the insoluble phosphates into a form 

 in which they can be used by plants, yet not 

 be washed away in the drainage waters. 



It still remains to be seen whether this pro- 

 cess is rapid enough to supply the needed 

 phosphates for a productive garden, but if 

 we keep our soil well stocked with phosphates, 

 lime, and organic matter, whose rapid decay 

 we bring about by drainage and cultivation, 

 we are at the same time making soluble a 

 very appreciable amount of phosphate so 

 much needed by all plants which produce 

 seeds as the useful product. 



Getting the "Insoluble" Potash 



T^HE effect of the war in cutting off our 

 ■*• supply of potash has distressed many 

 economists and a few farmers, some of whom 

 are even worried by an unofficial German 

 threat to forever "strafe" us by refusing to 

 exchange their potash for our phosphate. 

 For the encouragement of all such, it may be 

 well to recall a recent experiment to show that 

 we are not likely soon to exhaust the supply 

 of potash in our soils. 



As we w 7 ill recall; there is in almost all soils 

 a quantity of "insoluble" potash which, it 

 has been assumed, the plants can not use 

 because it is insoluble in boiling hydrochloric 

 acid. To test this a considerable quantity 

 of soil was boiled with acid, as is done in 

 analysis, after w 7 hich the residue was washed 

 clean and all acid neutralized. As it was a 

 fine clay, it was mixed with pure quartz sand 

 to loosen it, and all the other elements of 

 plant food, except potash, were added. As 

 the plants matured samples were taken for 

 analysis and the other plants returned to the 

 soil and other seeds sown. At the end of 

 three years it was found that the soil had pro- 

 duced decidedly more crops to the acre than 

 the average of the state. These plants had, 

 on analysis, been able to secure from this 

 "extracted" soil enough potash for normal 

 growth, the amount increasing as more and 

 more of the green crops were returned to the 

 soil. The plants in this experiment grew to 

 normal size and matured sound seed but con- 

 tained much less than the usual amount of 

 potash, showing a possibility that much of the 

 potash in plants is not necessary but like the 

 silica and chlorine, is merely tolerated. This 

 belief is encouraged by the knowledge that 

 much of the potash remains in the stems of 

 the plants instead of being stored in the seeds 

 like the more precious phosphorus. For ex- 

 ample corn has nine times as much phosphorus 

 in the grain as in the stalk and three times as 

 much potash in the stalk as in the grain. The 

 only soils in this country which really lack 

 potash are the white beach sands and the re- 

 claimed muck or peaty soils which are actu- 

 ally deficient in this element. 



In corroboration of this it may be recalled 

 that 1917 was the third successive crop of 

 Long Island potatoes to be grown with little 

 or no potash, yet that year's crop was above 

 the average in yield and quality. 



One good way to prove the fitness of the 

 soil to be dug or plowed is to take a fork or 

 spade, run it into the soil to full depth and 

 turn it over. Take a handful of the soil and 

 squeeze it. If it forms a mud ball, you 

 must wait. 



How Long Are Seeds "Good?" 



CEED economy is the "order of the day." 

 ^ On our methods of handling available 

 vegetable seed supplies during the next sixty 

 days depends whether or not we will be able 

 to grow the varieties we like best during 

 1919. Two methods of conserving supplies 

 on hand should be practised by every con- 

 scientious gardener: Seeds left over from 

 last year should be tested, and seeds bought 

 this year should be used sparingly — not 

 stingily, but with care. 



Remember that, with few exceptions, most 

 vegetable seeds retain their vitality for many 

 years. Some grow better the second year 

 than the first — notably cucumbers and beans. 

 However, in many cases, the seeds bought 

 last year, were already several years old before 

 you got them. Precaution prompts every 

 seedsman to carry a two-year supply of most 

 biennials — vegetables requiring two years 

 from seed to seed. 



A Method of Testing Seeds 



C"UCH seeds as may Have been carried over 

 M from last season, therefore, should be care- 

 fully tested. Take a dozen blotters, wet 

 them thoroughly in warm water and put from 

 ten to twenty-five seeds of each sort between 

 the blotters, putting a number on each blotter 

 facing the seeds and the same number on the 

 package or packet containing the rest of the 

 seeds. Then take a muslin or burlap bag, 

 wrap it several times around the blotters, wet 

 it, too, and put this "ragdoll" on top of the 

 furnace or on a radiator or anywhere where 

 it is subject to uniform heat. Every morning 

 this package should be moistened. At the 

 end of the third or fourth day, the seeds 

 should show signs of germination. 



Of the coarser seeds, such as beans, corn, 

 peas, pumpkins and squash, ten seeds are 

 generally sufficient to test vitality. If five 

 sprout your seeds grow about 50 per cent., 

 etc. Seeds that you need not test because 

 their vitality, if bought from a responsible 

 seedsman, is above "suspicion" are beets, 

 cucumbers, lettuce, muskmelons, radish, to- 

 matoes and turnips. They germinate well 

 for from six to ten years. 



Seeds that should be tested because their 

 germination power changes rapidly within 

 a comparatively few years are beans, corn, 

 eggplants, watermelons, peas, peppers, 

 pumpkins, parsnips, salsify, spinach, squash 

 and herbs. If you have but little left of 

 parsnips, salsify and herb seed, do not waste 

 any time with it, but instead get a new 

 supply. 



Seeds that should be tested because either 

 their germination power deteriorates rapidly 

 after the second year, or because so much 

 depends on prompt germination that failure 

 would spell the loss of that crop for the 

 season, are brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, 

 cauliflower, celery, leek, onions and parsley. 

 Onion seed in particular needs watching. 

 Depending on conditions ruling at seed 

 harvest time some lots will lose as much as 

 50 per cent, vitality between fall of one and 

 spring of the following year. Since the 

 vitality of onion seeds at its best is rarely 

 more than 85 per cent., it can be seen that 

 planting two-year-old onion seeds may prove 

 a gamble. 



To summarize: Hang on to what seeds 

 you've got and be saving with those newly 

 bought. Keep all seeds in glass jars or mouse- 

 proof containers, in a dry closet or attic. 



