8o 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
are produced by bacterial action, the pro¬ 
cess of which we have not discovered, and 
I would like to know something on that 
line, if possible. (Applause.) 
Mr. Hume: Mr. Driscoll, I would like 
to turn that question over to you. 
Mr. Driscoll: I would like to hear from 
Prof. Rolfs. (Laughter) I am satisfied the 
Professor has made some very important 
experiments on that line. 
Mr. Hume: Prof. Rolfs does not seem 
to be here. Can anyone else furnish an 
answer ? 
Mr. -: What is your advice in re¬ 
gard to mixing raw ground lime rock 
and acid phosphate together? 
Maj. Floyd: That would revert a good 
deal of the available phosphoric acid. 
Mr.-: The reason why I asked; in 
South Carolina where there is a good deal 
of aluminum in the soil, lime, combined 
with the acid phosphate, makes it more 
like basic slag. Whether there is any al¬ 
uminum in this soil I do not know. 
Mr. Green: I suggest we call Mrs. 
Prange to answer that question. 
Mrs. Prange : There is a very great deal 
of difference between mixing lime and 
acid phosphate above ground and having 
the dissolved acid phosphate mix with the 
lime in the soil. As we know acid phos¬ 
phate is made by taking away two parts 
of the lime. That leaves a soluble phos¬ 
phoric acid. When you put the acid phos¬ 
phate in the soil, this phosphoric acid is 
dissolved. As it is dissolved and comes in 
contact with the lime, it is reverted and to 
an extent precipitated in so much finer 
particles than any grinding could possibly 
bring it, that the availability is not im¬ 
paired. 
Hr.-: How about the aluminum in 
the soil? 
Mrs. Prange: There is always some al¬ 
uminum and iron in all soils. It makes no 
difference how much there is, having 
plenty of lime in the soil keeps the phos¬ 
phoric acid available, although that seems 
to be contradictory. 
Mrs. Skinner. Let’s refer the gentle¬ 
man’s question about the palmetto to Mrs 
Prange, too (Laughter). 
Mrs. Prange: There is one part of his 
question I really want to answer. He 
was speaking about the different advice 
about the use of potash since the potash 
is so difficult to get. Now, when you 
stop to consider, our plants and trees are 
really no more sensitive or important 
than are we, and our families. It there 
was any one article of food that was 
costing six times its real value, we cer¬ 
tainly would lessen the amount we put 
on our table, and we would not starve to 
death, either. 
I believe all kinds of life will adjust it¬ 
self, in a measure, to it’s conditions. 
I do not think anyone really considered 
an authority, claims that trees and plants 
can get on without any potash, but surely 
potash, at $6.00 per unit, is not a prac¬ 
tical proposition in the quantities as was 
used before, and I do not think any au¬ 
thority has ever advised the high amount 
of potash that the growers themselves 
have demanded in the past. 
Mr. -: Mrs. Prange spoke about 
acid phosphate and iron not working to¬ 
gether. I have a piece of ground with a 
sort of iron pebble. It is very hard, and’ 
in same places you have to move the peb- 
