FERTILIZERS FOR VEGETABLES 



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necessary by means of inoculation through treatment with 

 farm manure, use of soil, or special preparation, according 

 to particular circumstances. 



(7th) Absence of substances poisonous to plants, includ- 

 ing acid compounds. 



Assuming that these conditions are satisfactorily adjusted, 

 then crops are able to make efficient use of the plant-food that 

 is within reach of the feeding rootlets. Conditions that are 

 unfavorable in any one respect may easily make it impossible 

 for a crop to utilize the plant-food that lies right at hand 

 ready for use, whether that plant-food occurs naturally in 

 the soil or has been applied in the form of fertilizers. We 

 can see, therefore, that, from a practical point of view, all 

 other conditions are preparatory, and in a sense subordinate, 

 to the one final purpose of enabling the crop to obtain and 

 use its food. When climatic and structural soil conditions 

 are suitable for promoting crop growth, then the primary 

 problem of crop production is crop-feeding. 



Without going farther into detail regarding these prelim- 

 inary considerations, and assuming that those conditions are 

 present which enable plants to use plant-food efficiently, we 

 will take up our special subject. 



Quality, Quantity and Earliness. 



In the growing of vegetables, two factors are, or should be 

 kept in mind, (1) quality, (2) quantity. In case of many 

 crops a third factor may become predominant and that is 

 earliness. 



We understand readily enough what is meant by quantity 

 and by earliness, but it may be well to stop a moment to dis- 

 cuss just what we mean by quality in vegetables. The word 

 is used to cover a variety of characteristics which affect, and 

 often determine, the marketable value of a product. These 

 special characteristics are entirely different in different kinds 

 of vegetables. We mention as chief among the important 

 qualities of vegetables the following: (1) flavor, (2) texture, 

 (3) form, (4) size, (5) color, (6) shipping and keeping 

 quality. I presume others may suggest themselves to you. 

 As I shall point out later, these qualities may be influenced 



