9 
dented supply! But now not less tlmu 5,000 
acres contribute daily to that market; the sea¬ 
son of Strawberry supply now lasts over four 
months, and the annual sales m that city 
amount to more than.150,000 tOus of] this most 
delightful fruit. 
What is true of Chicago is true of New York 
aud of every large and nearly every small 
market in the country. The supply of straw¬ 
berries has increased a thousand per cent, iu 
about a quarter of a century. This means a 
now industry which employs t housands of peo¬ 
ple and millions of capital. It means a vast 
extension of table luxuries among the people 
and a widespread enjoyment of a beneficent, 
health-giving agency. And although there is 
much talk of over-production and unprofitable 
culture, most of which is true under the par¬ 
ticular circumstances, yet i believe we shall 
see this culture greatly extended beyond its 
present limits, and also made profitable to pro 
ducers, which certainly is an essential condi¬ 
tion of any permanent expansion. We are 
rapidly improving in our methods of handling 
and transporting strawberries and other fruits, 
and it is now possible to so distribute the en¬ 
tire present strawberry product as to make it 
fairly remunerative to growers. 
Within my memory the limit of strawberry 
transportation was the daily trip of the mar¬ 
ket wagon, or at the most, a few score of miles 
by boat or rail. The season for this luxury 
then lasted hut three or four weeks. Now we 
have a possible season of eight mouths, and a 
full regular supply iu our cities for four 
months, because we have learned that we cau 
transport strawberries for hundreds and even 
thousands of miles. It is only a question of 
knowing h jvv, doing it rightly, and paying the 
costs. South Florida furnishes us berries with 
the beginning of the year, and there need be 
no break iu the supply until the crop of the 
British Provinces gives out near the end of 
Summer. Both the early and the late supply 
can and will be increased, and as production 
extends and prices diminish, consumption will 
increase. It has been often said that berries 
could not be sold in any quantity until their 
natural season came; but the history of nil 
Southern production of this fruit shows that 
the season comes in all markets many weeks 
earlier now than it did a few years since—in 
fact, that it comes when the berries become 
abundant and prices reasonable. We natur¬ 
ally like strawberries us well in January as in 
July, in the same way as we like coffee and 
beefsteak, and we should eat them as freely 
were they plentiful and cheap enough. 
Most certainly a delicate fruit like this 
that, is grown in another climate and trans¬ 
ported 1,000 or 2,000 miles, cannot be furnished 
at the low prices that might pay the pro¬ 
ducer in the next town, but there is no longer 
any good reason why the cost of transportation 
should bo so high as to prohibit extensive use. 
The means now exist, and cau bo placed with¬ 
in the reach of producers of this fruit in any 
portion of this continent, of transporting it to 
any other part of the continent, and at prices 
that will permit general consumption. This 
muy seem like extravagant statement, but I 
speak advisedly. Hence I see no reason why 
with u country extending over 80 degrees of 
latitude where strawberries will grow, we 
should not expect the season of strawberry 
eating to become greatly extended. An en¬ 
ergetic and judicious distribution will place 
the Southern crop in e very Northern town, and 
the Northern crop all over the South: aud 
everybody will be the happier and the health¬ 
ier for it. We have learned how to produce 
this best of fruits in great quuntity of good 
quality, and everywhere. The problem to be 
solved in each section where the culture does 
not pay is how to reach wider markets aud in 
good condition; for this is certainly possible to 
the best management. There is no over-pro¬ 
duction of good fruit, but a deficient distribu¬ 
tion. This is the great practical question for 
the fruit grower in every line. 
Cobden, Ills. 
farm topics. 
i 
NITRATE OF SODA FOR GARDEN 
CROPS. 
WHY IT IS FOUND NECESSARY TO USE SO MUCH 
MANURE ON THE GARDEN. 
JOSEPH HARRIS. 
Enormous applications of farm manure for 
early garden crops; better and earlier 
crops from successive maimrings; better re¬ 
sults from late than from early manuring; 
mistaken economy; nitrogen a callable 
plant-food only os nitric avid; conversion 
of nitrogen into nitric acid; nitrate of 
soda far belter than manure for early ap¬ 
plication. 
There is a common opinion that the longer 
pnions are grown year after year on the same 
land the better will bo the crops. Enormous 
quantities of dung are applied every year. 
The manure used supplies nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid, potash and other ingredients of plaut- 
food far in excess of the amount removed in 
the crop. And yet it is found necessary to 
furnish a heavy dressing of manure every 
year. If this is not done the crop is found 
unprofitable. 
The same is true of early cabbage and curly 
cauliflowers. It is found necessary to use 
enormous quantities of manure for these crops 
—fur in excess of the plant-food removed in 
the crop. Gardeners who make a specialty of 
growing large areas of early cabbage find it 
almost impossible to make the laud rich 
enough the first year. They Hnd that the 
second or third crops grown and manured 
every year on the same land arc better and 
earlier thau the first crop. 
Au experienced American gardener recom¬ 
mends an application, every year, of 75 to Si) 
tons of stable manure per acre for early cab¬ 
bage and 10 tons per acre for lute cabbage. 
Many gardeners make this distinction bet ween 
early and late cabbage, aud yet the late 'cab¬ 
bages produce much the larger crops and re¬ 
move far more plant-food from tin* soil than 
the early crop. 
A market gardener, near New York, who 
used large quantities of manure and was very 
successful, was about to opeu a street through 
his garden. Thinking his land sufficiently 
rich to carry through u'erop of cabbage with¬ 
out manure, he thought it useless to waste 
money by using guano on t hat portion on 
which the street was to be, but on each side 
sowed guano at the rate of 1,200 pounds inn- 
acre and planted the whole to early cabbage. 
“The effect,” says the well-known gardener 
who relates the incident, “was the most 
marked l ever saw'. That, portion on which 
the guano had been used sold readily at $12 
per hundred, or about $1,400 per acre, but the 
portion from which the guano had been with¬ 
held hardly averaged $3 per hundred. The 
street occupied fully an acre of ground, so 
that my friend actually lost, over $1,000 in the 
crop by withholding $00 for mauure. Every 
gardener of experience can recall similar in¬ 
stances. Receut scientific discussions furnish 
a satisfactory explanation of t hese facts, and 
the explanation is of great practical impor¬ 
tance. 
There's no difference Ik- t ween the manurial 
requirements of an early and n lute cabbage. 
Both require the sumo food and the late crop, 
being larger, requires more, rather than less, 
food or manure per acre. And yet in prac¬ 
tice it is found absolutely necessary to use far 
more manure for the early crop than for the late 
crop. The explanation is t his: AU our common 
agricultural and horticultural plants take up 
their nitrogen iu the form of nitric acid or 
nitrate. At one time it. was supposed that 
the plants took up the nitrogen in the form of 
ammonia. It, is now T known that the ammo¬ 
nia must he converted into uitrio acid. No 
matter how much nitrogen the soil or manure 
may contain it becomes available for plant- 
food only after It is converted into nitric acid. 
The 75 tons of manure that, gardenei-s apply 
every year for the early cabbage contain 820 
pounds of nitrogen, or as much nitrogen as 
5,200 pounds of good commercial nitrate of 
soda. Ten thousand early cabbages per acre, 
weighing five iKiuuds each, is a good crop. 
These cabbage t25 tons per acre) contain 120 
pounds of nitrogen equal to 750 pounds of ni¬ 
trate of soda. In other words,the gardeners use 
over six pounds of nitrogen in the form of man¬ 
ure to get back one pound of nitrogen iu the 
crop. And as long as they use nitrogen iu the 
form of barn-yard and stable manure it is un 
doubtedly necessary to use this quanity. They 
find it profitable to use it. but thanks to the 
investigation of scientific men w'e now know 
bow to obtain the same results with far great¬ 
er certainty and at vastly less cost. The 75 
tons of manure contain 820 pounds of nitro¬ 
gen but little or no nitric acid. Aud it is ni¬ 
tric acid that the plants waul und must have. 
It is now known that the nitrogen in the 
organic matter of the soil in manure is slowly 
converted into nitric acid by the growth of u 
minute, living plant. This plant cannot grow 
if the soil is too cold or too wet, or too dry, or 
in the absence of lime or an alkali. As a gen¬ 
eral rule, there is no lack of lime in the soil, 
and the other conditions necessary for the con¬ 
version of the nitrogen into nitric acid uro 
warm weather and a moist soil. In the early 
spring the soil is too wet, and too cold for t in- 
change to take place. We must wait for 
warmer weather. But the gardener does not 
want to wait,. He makes his profits largely 
on his early crops. Guided only by experience 
und tradition be fills his land with manure, 
and even then he gets only a poor crop the 
first year, lie puts on 75 tons more mai uro 
the next, year, aud gets a better crop, a id 
another 75 tons the next year, and gets a still 
better crop. Aud he may keep on putting oil 
manure till the soil itself is as rich iu uitrogen 
as the manure itself, and even then ho must 
keep on manuring or he fails to get a good 
early crop. Why f The nitrogen of the soil 
or of roots or plants or dung is retained in the 
soil in a comparatively inert condition. There 
is little or no loss. But when it is slowly con¬ 
verted into nitric acid during warm weather 
the plants take it up and grow rapidly. Un¬ 
fortunately, however, if we have no plants 
growing in the autumn, and there is much 
nitric acid left unused iu the soil, the rains of 
winter and early spring leach'out a large pre- 
portion of it, and it sinks in to'the subsoil or 
undcrdniins. 
How, then, is thc piuirket gardener to get 
the nitric acid absolutely necessary for the 
growth of his j?arly^planted lie gets it, as 
before stated, from an excessive and continu¬ 
ous use of stable manures, and even then he 
fails to get it in sufficient quantity. v Fivo 
hundred pounds of nitrate of soda will fur¬ 
nish more uitrogen to the plants early in the 
spring than the gardener cau get from 75 or 
100 tons of well-rotted stable manure. The 
stable manure will furnish nitric acid for his 
later crops, but for his early crops"t he , gar 
doner who fails to use nitrate of soda is not 
living up to his privileges. 
^rbortcultm'fil 
NOT WELL KNOWN ORNAMENTAL 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
PROF. .1. L,. BUDD. 
So few of the ornamental trees and shrubs 
found on Eastern lawns and avenues are hardy 
west of Lake Michigan that our list of good 
things from the old stocks is very limited, 
ilenco we wish to encourage the propagation 
for the Western trade of a few t roes aud shrubs 
which are not, yet widely known at the West, 
though they' have proven true iron clads at 
many points in our tryingsummer and wiuter 
climate. Some of them are well known at the 
East and others are recent introductions from 
cast Europe and the valley of the Amur in 
Asia. 
Acer gimmlu, with a little care in the nurs¬ 
ery, makes a pretty dwarf tree with peculiar 
three-lobed leaves which in early autumn put 
on the gorgeous colors of the best Jaj>an ma¬ 
ples which are tender with us. Aluus incana: 
as a shade and avenue tree this species of the 
alder does well on moist as well as dry soils in 
all parts of the west. In habit of growth and 
expression itfis nil improvement on A.gtutiuosu 
which we also find valuable on rather moist, 
low prairies. Alnus incana laciniata is one of 
our best ornamental trees for large lawns. 
Aluus quereifolia is a small, round-topped tree 
with peculiar plicated and wrinkled leaves, 
decidedly ornamental. Aluus Sibirica is a 
medium-sized, handsome tree for large lawns 
or streets. 
Betula alba verrucosa: nearly all the Eu¬ 
ropean White Birches sent out by Eastern 
nurseries have more or less specimens of the 
upright, triangular-leaved, rough-twigged 
Russian birch mixed with them, us most of 
theEuropean birch seed now comes from Riga. 
On all soils of the West this tree is qt home 
and peculiarly beautiful. 
Betula alba laciniata is one or our finest or¬ 
namental trees, which is at home on varied 
soils over the whole West. Beyond nil reason¬ 
able doubt this beautiful tree Is a native of 
Eastern Europe. Tliough native to the eastern 
coast section, the White Fringe -Chionanthus 
Virginiea—is perfectly hardy in the sout h half 
of Iowa, hut is not well known. Cladrastls 
tinctorin, the beautiful yellow-wood, is also 
hardy south of the 42d parallel. Elieagnus 
august i folia was introduced from Eastern Eu¬ 
rope by the Monnonites, and is common in 
Western Kansas und Nebraska, but rare far¬ 
ther east. It is one of the finest of our orna¬ 
mental trees and attains a bight of 80 to 10 
feet,with beautiful rounded top aud Lieautiful 
silvery foliage iu summer, and silver bruuch- 
lets in Wiuter. Pyrus sulieifolia has proven 
as hardy as our native crab. A well grown 
specimen on the lawn attracts general atten¬ 
tion. Few will believe Unit such a silvery 
leaved, pendulous tree can really produce 
pears of fair quality for cooking. Primus pa- 
dus auculMefolin is on eastern form of the Bird 
Cherry, with foliage far more variegated and 
peculiar with us than in the Eastern States. 
Prunus triloba, when top-worked on the 
Miner plum becomes one of our finest small 
trees for the lawn. 
Populus all m nlyeu is a maple-like leaved va¬ 
riety. mu king u large and beautiful tree. Pop¬ 
ulus alba argonU-a is one of the best of the sil¬ 
very-leaved trees for shade in large lawns. 
As the the Nivea and Argentea are slightly' 
given to sprouting, w© Crown-graft them on 
non-sprouting species. Populus Bolieana is a 
singularly' beautiful tree fora background. It, 
will become the “most, popular of the poplars” 
Salix laurilolia globosa is a round-headed 
vaiicty' of tie laurel-leaved willow of Asia. 
It should he widely planted as a lawn and 
street tree at the West. 
Kalix Napoleonic is the hardiest and best of 
the close-habited weeping willows. Of Salix 
Babylonica, the variety from the Euphrates is 
tender with us, but that from the Volga re¬ 
gion is hardy and specially' desirable for some 
positions. 
SHRUBS, 
In this brief paper only a few desirable 
shrubs which as yet are little known can be 
noted. 
A mygdalusSibirica,the ordinary Flowering 
Almond, is scarcely hardy over a large part of 
the West. The double white Siberian from 
Hu-sin we found perfect after our test winters. 
Cytisuk cupitatus is a shrub two feet in 
bight, and quite as beautiful in leaf amd flower 
as any 7 of t he family. Hippopheu angustifolia 
is a species of the sea buckthorn with narrow, 
silver gray' foliage. It is n perfect success at the 
West,. Hydrangea panicuJata is hardy and 
beautiful with us. Euonymus nanaisa dwarf 
form with weeping habit aud very nearly 
persistent in loaf. Fine for borders of drives 
and walks. 1 do not know t hat Lonicora spleu- 
dens is a distinct species, yet its tine, light 
green foliage nnd habit of flowering are re¬ 
peated iu a hundred or more seedlings we have 
from Dr. Sargent. Its varieties should super- 
sedo the old Tree Honeysuckle over the 
Northern States. Spiraea Douglasi, S. Noble- 
ana, S. Van Houttei aud S. opulifolia should 
be better known at tin- West. 
Rosa rugosa, n single red and white, nnd 
the half double red and white varieties should 
be widely spread at the West. Truly hardy 
roses with us arc not numerous, and the ad¬ 
vent, of this beautifully-leaved family would 
soon give us crosses of value. Viburnum Ian- 
kin a and V. lautnnoides are rarely met with 
west aud should be introduced. Philudelphus 
seabrn: As the Deutzias are ail tender on the 
prairie; this evident cross with the family 
should bo scattered. 
Tamurix Amurensis; the ordinary forms of 
this beautiful family kill to the ground each 
winter with us. The variety from the Amur 
is hardy enough to flower, and its beauty is 
increased by the slight killing back of its ter¬ 
minal points by our test winter. 
Agricultural College, Iowa 
ficli) CtOJJSu 
MANURE VERSUS DROUGHT. 
W. 1. CHAMBERLAIN, 
(President. Iowa Agricultural College.) 
I present the following table showing the 
yields of potatoes on the farm of the Iowa Ag¬ 
ricultural College this year of terrible drought 
as a proof of the power of manure to supply 
the luck of moisture. 
Eighty-five varieties were planted on an ex¬ 
perimental pint of about 10 acres, thus giving 
each about an eighth of an acre—enough to 
make the experiments reliable as to quantity. 
The yield per acre is calculated on the basis 
of rows 82 inches apart, and sets one foot apart 
in the rows. The entire field was of pretty 
uniform soil, viz,., a dark, sandy loam, about 
one foot deep, with a gravelly subsoil. It is 
“glacial drift,” geologically speaking, or 
“boulder clay,” with a pretty siroug surface 
admixture of suud and gravel. More than 80 
tons per acre of fairly rotted stable manure, 
mostly from cows and horses, wore plowed in 
the Full before ubout six inches deep. There 
was reasonable moisture until June 1st, when 
the potatoes were fairly up. From that time 
to August 15 when the vines were mostly dead, 
the total rainfall was only 1.51 inch and for 
t he lust eight weeks it. was only 0.25 inch, viz., 
August 1,0.12 inch, and August 4, 0.18 inch, 
both too light and too late to do the potatoes 
any good at all. The aerrage rainfall for the 
11 weeks iu t hat, locality would have been over 
si.r times as much,and for the last, eight weeks 
most vital to their growth the average rainfall 
would have been 2.8 times as much. June 20 
there w as a fine shower of 1.02 inch which 
moistened the ground and the fine lnyer of 
manure and the roots of the potatoes luxuri¬ 
ated iu this till the tubers formed. The vines 
of the earliest sorts died about August 1st, 
huving seen absolutely' not one drop of rain 
for the six weeks most vital to their growth. 
Table I. 
Helds of Potatoes on the Iowa Agricultural 
VARIETY. 
1. Kiirly Ohio. 
DATE OF 
KIPKN1KU. 
... August4, 
YIELD 
PER ACRE. 
Bushels. 
158 
a. I^'e's Favorite. 
158 
8. Early Maine. 
. 4, 
1S6 
4. l'tutrl nr Savoy _ 
. 4. 
182 
8. College Hello. 
. 11. 
152 
8. Early Vermont. 
.. a. 
151 
i. Chicago Market_ 
. n, 
151 
S. Vanguard. 
. 4. 
140 
1», Correction. 
142 
io. El I'uao. 
? 
IDS 
11. Advance.. 
? 
186 
1*4, Early Howard. 
.. 4, 
185 
