FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
95 
percentage of nitrogen accordingly, using 
enough potash to combine with the nitro¬ 
gen, w'hich for the average of the year 
would be a little over three times the 
amount of the nitrogen, as all growers 
soon learn that, without the necessary 
percentage of potash, the wood is soft, 
the orange lacks juice and what there is is 
insipid, to say nothing of the probable die- 
back and possible gum disease and foot 
rot later on. 
As to the indications for phosphoric 
acid, excepting so far as the thinness or 
plumpness of the seed are concerned, I 
must confess to being in the dark. Judg¬ 
ing from analysis of tree and fruit, we 
are using more of this element than neces¬ 
sary, but at least, in some cases, we have 
evidences to the effect that even larger 
percentages are applied with good results, 
so far as amount of fruit is concerned; 
and as yet we have not met with any 
evidence of injury, even from its ex¬ 
cessive use. though we think that it 
hastens maturity. The good results 
attending the use of more of this element 
than analysis of fruit and tree would call 
for, may in part be accounted for by the 
fact, that much of the free phosphoric acid 
applied to our soil is probably soon com¬ 
bined with lime, iron or aluminum, thus 
becoming, in the first case, of questionable 
availability, and, in the second case, non- 
available to the tree. 
Source of Nitrogen. 
With the exception of what nitrogen is 
contained in the steamed bone and the 
small amount of nitrate of soda used in 
the early spring, sulphate of ammonia is 
almost our only source of nitrogen. 
Guano, we find from repeated experiences, 
at least when applied during warm weath¬ 
er, will cause fniit to drop badly. Blood 
and bone, cotton seed meal, etc., gives a 
thick bark with large pores into which 
the young scale easily get their sucking 
tubes and multiply rapidly; while later on 
comes die-back, to say nothing of the in¬ 
ferior quality of fruit. The same ob¬ 
jection holds good for stable manure ; but, 
as its possession has not been avoidable 
with us, and not wanting to waste it, we 
compost it with equal parts of low grade 
sulphate of potash and acid phosphate and 
allow it to thoroughly rot before using, 
by which time the ammonia is probably 
nitrified and combined with the potash, 
forming a nitrate of potash, or combined 
directly with sulphur, giving a sulphate of 
ammonia. When so treated, we have 
used the small amount of four shovel¬ 
fuls per tree, scattered outside of the 
branches, with good results only; but care 
should be exercised in its use and a watch 
kept for an increase of scale,. 
We use at least one hundred pounds 
each of the sulphate of potash and acid 
phosphate per ton of manure. 
The rotting process can be greatly hur¬ 
ried by keeping the pile moist and making 
holes with a crowbar for admission of air. 
As for gathering a part of the nitrogen 
from the air by growing leguminoid 
plants in grove, we have given it a 
thorough trial, resulting only in financial 
loss and humiliation. Whenever we got a 
heavy growth of beggarweed, the rapid 
nitrification going on in the roots of the 
weed among the orange tree roots, has 
invariably caused The fruit to become 
ammoniated and split, regardless of our 
best efforts to balance the debt by use of 
potash and phosphoric acid. ‘ 
Sources of Fotasli. 
As the carbonates of potash are too ex¬ 
pensive and the muriates contain so much 
