1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
209 
The Garden. 
FOOD FOR DAINTY PLANTS. 
FERTILIZERS FOR GREENHOUSE AND GARDEN 
The use of chemical fertilizers under 
glass progresses very slowly ; conditions 
are entirely different from field culture, 
and there is always the risk of injury 
from a too highly concentrated food. 
Many florists continue to experiment 
with various chemicals, but in a small 
way. A leading New York florist, who 
grows a variety of stove, greenhouse and 
garden plants, on being asked whether 
he knew any substitute for stable man¬ 
ure in greenhouse and garden, answered: 
“ Yes, we have been using, for some 
time, a fertilizing compound which gives 
us great satisfaction. It is compounded 
from dead animals, bone, night soil, gar¬ 
bage, and in fact, all the refuse material 
from city waste, dried and reduced. It 
is a slightly fibrous material, suggestive 
of leaf mold. At present it appears to 
be manufactured in a small way, and is 
not widely known among cultivators. 
We find it excellent for palms and ferns, 
and indeed for pot plants generally.” 
“ In what proportion is it used ?” 
“ Ordinarily, we mix it with the soil 
in the proportion of one barrel of fertil¬ 
izer to 10 barrels of soil, but it may be 
used in greater quantity with satisfac¬ 
tory results. We find the same material 
excellent in a lawn dressing.” 
“ Do you use this fertilizer alone as a 
lawn dressing ?” 
“ No, we make a mixture consisting of 
one two-horse load of spent manure from 
hotbeds, four barrels of hard-wood ashes, 
and two barrels of the fertilizer. This 
makes an excellent dressing, and there 
is no danger of weeds being introduced 
by it.” 
Chemicals in the Greenhouse. 
“ There are several chemical manures 
made for greenhouse use, are there not?” 
“ Yes, Alberts’ high-grade chemical 
fertilizer is quite largely used abroad, 
and to a less extent, in this country ; it 
is quite expensive, and a good deal of 
care must be observed in its use. Jadoo 
fiber has attracted much attention of 
late ; this is made from peat moss treated 
with chemical fertilizers in liquid form. 
A good many years ago, the attention of 
a German chemist was attracted by the 
great wastes or prairies, overgrown with 
heather, in the vicinity of Liineburg auf 
der Heide, a town in lower northern Ger¬ 
many. These heather-grown prairies, 
somewhat similar to the Scottish moors, 
were covered with a deposit of vegetable 
matter, consisting of Sphagnum moss 
and interwoven heather roots, a quantity 
of fine sand being driven into it by sweep¬ 
ing winds from banks of sand strata. 
The chemist was impressed with the 
value of this material as a medium for 
conveying plant nutriment, but it was 
some time before the idea was adopted, 
being first introduced in England. Our 
experience does not lead us to use Jadoo 
to the exclusion of soil, but we find it of 
value when placed over the drainage 
material in the flower pot, giving encour¬ 
agement to the roots of the newly-potted 
plant, and acting as a strainer for the 
water and to keep the drainage clear.” 
“ Does the fiber retain the sand present 
in its original condition ? ” 
“ No ; this is removed by some fanning 
process. It is the same original peat 
moss-which furnishes the material used 
as bedding for horses.” 
“ Would it be safe for one having lit¬ 
tle experience to i’se such materials as 
nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia 
in liquid form in the greenhouse ?” 
“1 don’t think so; even experienced 
florists are likely to meet with trouble 
in using these substances. We do not 
yet understand them sufficiently, and it 
is too easy to give an overdose. I have 
seen cases of apparent disease in a rose 
house, very puzzling to the grower, 
prove to be the result of an overdose 
of this concentrated nourishment. Some 
of the Chrysanthemum growers have ex¬ 
perimented quite largely with these 
chemicals, but, in their case, they must 
not only know the influence the chem¬ 
ical is likely to exert upon Chrysanthe¬ 
mums in general, but also its possible 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
influence upon the variety under treat¬ 
ment, since all varieties cannot be treat¬ 
ed alike.” 
“ In addition to stable manure, what 
fertilizing material may an amateur use 
in garden or potting soil, with the cer¬ 
tainty of good results ?” 
“ Ground bone ; this may always be 
added with advantage. It is safe to use 
in any potting soil, and is of benefit to 
the garden. In the flower bed, I would 
suggest from one to two handfuls of the 
ground bone to one square yard of surface, 
it being raked in, instead of spaded.” 
A Magazine of Fertility. 
“ How should a small gardener keep 
up his supply of soil ? ” 
“He should have both a compost heap 
and a rot-pile, to draw upon for future 
fertility. The compost heap should con¬ 
sist of good sod loam and well-rotted 
manure, stacked up in alternate layers; 
it should stand at least a year before 
being used for potting and, when chop¬ 
ped down and turned, it will be found in 
fine condition. The rot-pile consists of 
all the miscellaneous trash collected 
around the garden, together with old 
soil from flower pots and greenhouse 
benches. All is left to weather and 
decay, until it may be chopped down and 
used as a substitute for leaf mold, adding 
some air-slaked lime and wood ashes. In 
crowded European localities, where leaf 
mold is difficult to obtain, the gardener 
looks upon his rot-pile as a bank or 
magazine of fertility. Fresh supplies 
are always added to it at the one end. 
while the older end is chopped down, 
sifted, and used, thus keeping a supply 
of uniform age and quality always 
ready.” 
The soil compost described forms the 
basis of the potting soil in all cases 
where loam is called for. If very stiff, 
sand is added to give a looser texture, 
the proportion of sand varying accord¬ 
ing to the character of the plants. Many 
inexperienced gardenei-s take, as then- 
ideal potting soil, what they describe as 
“rich black dirt”, which may contain 
little nourishment, despite its color. 
Select sod from an old meadow, stack it 
in the manner described, chop down the 
pile, when properly rotted and, after 
mixing and sifting, no one need fear that 
such loam will be insufficient for the 
needs of all ordinary greenhouse plants. 
Where manure is used as a top-dressing 
in the greenhouse, it must not be used 
when too fresh, or the fumes arising 
from it will cause serious damage. Cases 
have been noted where a heavy top¬ 
dressing of cow manure caused a house¬ 
ful of roses to drop all their lower 
leaves, and it is more than possible that 
some cases of Black spot on rose leaves 
may be traced to this cause. Several 
years ago, commercial growers of Perle 
des Jardin rose were sorely troubled 
with what they described as “bull-heads” 
—defective buds which failed properly to 
mature. This condition was due to a 
variety of causes, one of these causes, in 
the opinion of experienced growers, 
being an extra heavy top-dressing of 
fresh cow manure. The gross supply of 
nutriment was too much for the plant to 
assimilate, just as over-rich food might 
produce biliousness in the human sub¬ 
ject. E. T. R. 
Emmeline 
THE MODERN 
STOVE POLISH 
No other polish 
has so larqe a sale. 
None so good. 
Jl.Prescott&Co. New York 
TEAS COFFEES 
AT GREATLY REDUCED PRICES. 
Tea Set, Toilet Set, Watch or Clock FREE, with 20 
pounds 60o. Cockatoo Tea, any kind; and a beautiful 
present, with every pound. Coffees, 12o. Send for new 
Illustrated reduced price-list. Order now by mall 
10 pounds Tea, and get your Premium and Special 
Presents. THE GREAT AMERICAN TEA CO., 
81 and 83 Vesey Street, New York. P. 0. Box 289. 
BUY "DIRECT FROM FACTORY,” BEST 
MIXED PAINTS 
At WHOLESALE PRICES, Delivered FREE 
For Houses, Barns, Roofs, all colors, and SAVE Dealers 
profits. In use 54 years, Endorsed by Grange & Farmers' 
Alliance. I.ow prices will surprise you Write for Samples. 
SOl.L, 246 Plymouth St., Brooklyn, N. V 
0 W. INGER 
AGENTS "Lra SPS 1 ® 
/Cwvlwv your business. Write 
J Bond Steel Post Co. Adrian, JUich. 
FARMERS GAN SAVE MONEY 
on Wire Nails, Fence Wire, Barbed or Plain Twisted, 
Woven Wire Fencing and Poultry Netting. Price¬ 
list free. .JAMES S. CASE, Colchester, Conn. 
You can sec Buchanan Fence 
•without running against it. Painted oak stays hold all wires 
^securely in place. Top wire up and lower wire down. Makes 
yi neat solid and durable fence, easily seen 
?from longdistance. Secures all kinds of stock 
ind will he as good in ten years as when 
built. AGENTS WANTED. Send 
stamp for catalogue. 
BUCHANAN FENCE CO. Box 13. Smithville, Ohio. 
What Fence? 
OYOLONE FENOE 
'of course. It’s tho best that yourS 
i money will buy. Every horizontal, 
*Strand Is a cable of two lieavy\ 
k wires. Cables take tip all their own , 
fexpunttlon and contraction.^ 
I You can build 100 rods In a day. 
i Cyclone Fence Com 
Hon?, Mich. 
BOWEN 
, CABLE STAY FENCE CO, 
1 
fflfl For a machine to build 
4)1 the cheapest strongest 
and best fence made of wire. 
No royalties, no farm rights, 
machine easily and quickly 
operated by any farmer. r~ 
• large circular^'' 
Bend for 1 
NORWALK.O. 
in 
i? 
♦o 
<o 
eO 
HELD AND HOG FENCE, 
with or without lower eable barbed. All horizontal lines 
arc cables, not effected by heat and cold. Steel Picket 
Lawn and M.M.S. Poultry Fence, Steel Gates, Posts, etc. 
UNION FENCE CO. DeKalb. III. 
Seek-No-Further. 
With two heavy, self-regulating bars at the top 
to stop horses, and close meshes at bottom to bold 
pigs: with lb cross bars to the rod, and all from best 
material, we think Page Fence complete. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., Adrian, Mich. 
•DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHDOR?! 
Tf you don t the fault is probably in tho • 
• “line fence. If it were built of # 
jkeystone woven wire fencing: 
^bhcre could be no trouble. It turns everything from the^ 
i<mallesfc pig to the largest horse without injury. Expands^ 
ana contracts without being loose. All cross wires interwov*# 
•en—not put on by hand. If your dealer doesn't keep it# 
• write us direct. We pay the Freight. # 
•Keystone Woven Wire FenceCo. 10 Rush St. Peoria, III.# 
tmotom# tttiMMt* •••••••• 
* 
to $8.50 for ma- 
'J'dchines toweave 
your own fence at 
12 to 25 cents per 
rod. Strongest en¬ 
dorsements. Send 
for illustrated 
pamphlet giving valuable Information on fence build¬ 
ing. Unparalleled chance for agents to sell fence 
and machines. STANDARD WIRE FENCE CO., 
Cauadaigua, N. Y. 
The Only 
Factory Made 
Fence 
in with heavy upright wire 
-In one piece, and a per- 
P feet lock to hold it. 
m/r Made of hard steel wire, 
heavily galvanized, ami 
with ample provision 
for contraction and ex¬ 
pansion. 
Lamb Wire Fence Co., Adrian, Mich. 
WE PA Y FREIGHT to your station 
We have adopted tho principle of selling direct to“U 
tho farmer, paying the freight, thereby saving him all_ J 
the middle man’s profit. j 
ADVANCE FENCE 5 
Is sold at a price that makes It cheaper than the use 
ANY HAND FENCE MACHINE MADE. It Is the' 
CnilA Thill and the SUPERIOR OF MANY.' 
MjUHL I U HLL woven wire fences on the market. • 
NOTHING SKIMPED—everything THE BEST.5 
Extra Special discount and circulars FREE, Advance Fence Co., 9 Old Si., Peoria, III. 
is 
f 
The Mesh Around The Panel 
Shows How The Fence Is Made. 1 
Perfeci Farm Fence.’ 
steel wire. Top and bottom wire: 
Made of best doubly 
annealed galvanized 
op and bottom wires No. 9. All other 
wires No.l 1. We use the strong¬ 
est stay wire in any woven wire 
fence on tbe market—hence more 
strength and durability. Ourr 
I nnn |f«A|(entirely new feature,B 
L.UU|f IVIIUIp a tented), provides 
? perfect expansion and contrae- 
ion, and keeps it tight at all temper¬ 
atures. Our Loop Knot being uni¬ 
formly distributed throughout each 
foot of the fence is, in effect, the 
same as placing one coil of a spiral spring_ ___ 
length offence, BESIDES GREATLY STRENGTHENING IT. Our Loop 
; in every foot throughout the entire 
every township. Send for Catalogue and Prices 
OUR LOOP KNOT, 
them. Where we have 
_ farmer agents wanted in 
PITTSBURG WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO.. Pittsburg, Pa 
FOUR MEDALS—3 Gold and 1 Silver, World’s Centennial 
Cotton Exposition, New Orleans, 1884. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—Nebraska Agricultural Fair, 1887. 
DIPLOMA—Alabama Agr’l Society, Montgomery, 1888. 
AWARD—Chattahoochie Valley Exposition, Colum¬ 
bus, Ga., 1888. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—St. Louis Agricultural and 
Mechanical Association, 1889. 
GOLD MEDALS and - BnjlPLOMAS—World’s Colum- 
bian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—Western Fair Association, Lon¬ 
don, Canada, 1893. 
SIX GOLD MEDALS and Diplom as—Cal, M i dwin ter Fair ’94. 
SILVER MEDAL —Industrial Exposition, Toronto , Canada, 1895. 
345,584 Home Comfort Ranges Sold to Jan. lNt,'97 
CYT Range Illustrated is sold only from our own wagons at a 
uniform price throu ghout Canada and the U nited States. 
Made of open hearth, cold rolled steel-plato and malleable 
iron —will last a life-time with ordinary care. 
WROUGHT IRON RANGE CO., 
Founded 1864. Paid-up Capital $1,000,000. 
Factories, Salesrooms and Offices: TORONTO, CANADA, and ST. LOUIS, MO. 
Western Salesrooms and offices: DENVER, COLO. 
ITfWe manufacture and carry a complete stock of Hotel Ranges and Kitchen goods; 
NPequaled HOME COMFORT STEEL FURNACES. Write for catalogue and prices. 
also tbe 
