202 SUBURBAN GARDENS 
as pollen is ripe and falls, the petals fall, for 
then the flowers’ work is done and the forma- 
tion of fruit is assured. So it is coincident with 
the bee’s visit that the petals fall, or im- 
mediately following it; but the visit itself 
neither hastens this nor affects the life of the 
flower in the least. 
Fertilizers 
Never use a fertilizer because it has bene- 
fited someone else’s garden; it may not be good 
for yours at all. Generally speaking, we put 
too much faith in fertilizers and too little in 
good care ; and many a garden starves for lack 
of the tillage which would conserve moisture 
and so make available the plant food with 
which the soil is loaded, rather than for lack 
of the food itself. What is called a complete 
fertilizer, however, which simply means a fer- 
tilizer combination consisting of the three fer- 
tilizer elements in the proportion of one part 
nitrogen, two parts phosphoric acid, and three 
parts potash, may usually be used on ordinary 
soil to the garden’s advantage, but fancy mix- 
tures and wonder workers are a waste of time 
and money — and faith. 
In addition to fertilizer, or rather as a pre- 
