270 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
Pounds of Fertilizer Found in Cabbage from One Acre 
Heads 
pounds 
Refuse 
pounds 
Roots 
pounds 
Total 
pounds 
Phosphoric acid 
6.4 
14.4 
2.4 
23.2 
Potash 
24.4 
72.4 
17.2 
114.0 
Nitrogen 
18.2 
40.8 
8.0 
67.0 
To furnish all of the plant food for this yield of 8,00c 
heads, or 14 tons an acre, would require the equivalent 
of 165 pounds of phosphate rock of 14 per cent grade, 228 
pounds of muriate of potash of 50 per cent purity and 447 
pounds of nitrate of soda of 15 per cent purity. The total 
cost of these materials an acre would not exceed the 
amount frequently applied, but the proportions — 3 per 
cent phosphoric acid, 14 per cent potash and 8 per cent 
nitrogen — would be unusual. The analysis shows, how- 
ever, that potash is very important in the production oi 
this crop, and that nitrogen should be supplied in larger 
amounts than is usual. It is not necessary to use potash 
so freely in clay soils, but it is highly probable that 8 
per cent of this c’ement is not too much for most other 
soils. Although the phosphoric acid requirements are 
relatively small, the grower should not lose sight of the 
fact that most soils are very deficient in this element. 
Experiments in Pennsylvania have shown very clearly 
that acid phosphate has a decided effect upon the growth 
of early cabbage, both in hastening the maturity of the 
crop and in causing the formation of solid heads of in- 
creased weight. The most successful growers seldom use 
less than 4 per cent of nitrogen, and the analyses indicate 
that this is the minimum amount that should be used, 
unless there has been a large application of manure. 
Fifteen hundred to 2,000 pounds of fertilizer are gen- 
erally used for the early crop, and many growers of late 
cabbage do not apply less than these amounts. It is 
