FERTILIZERS AND 
it has no unpleasant manure odor. As a mulch the 
chopped stems seem to drive away ants, cut worms, 
moles and snails. Tests by the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture show that tobacco contains from five to 
twelve per cent potash, two to four per cent nitrogen, 
and from a quarter to one per cent phosphoric acid. 
As a mulch one hundred pounds of chopped stems will 
cover ten square feet, at a cost of two dollars. Coarse 
ground tobacco dust, and fine ground, may be had for 
three dollars per hundred, and is for sale by the Lan- 
caster Tobacco Products Go., Lancaster, Pa., and by 
the Nicotine Manufacturing Go., 1 17 North Main St., 
St. Louis, Mo. 
A dahlia can be killed with kindness. Beginners 
and amateurs frequently destroy their plants by too 
much water, over fertilizing and neglecting cultivation. 
After the flower buds form, cultivation is more impor- 
tant than ever; particularly is this true if flower forcing 
is being done with dry or liquid manures. If the soil 
dries out the growth and expansion of the bloom is 
hurt. Never-ceasing cultivation, or irrigation, as re- 
quired, must be practiced. The soil must never be 
allowed to dry out at blooming time. 
Excess of water destroys the roots of plants. Oxy- 
gen is absolutely necessary to the life of roots. With a 
water-soaked soil, the small amount of oxygen in the 
water is soon exhausted, and smothering and decay of 
the roots inevitably follows. Such a soil is known to 
