The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1881-07-06
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cleared OF these in June or July the
strawberry layers are planted in their
place; while crop of celery takes
the place OF the the strawberry crop
that had fruited, so that the ground
is never allowed to lay idle.
The question of fertilizers, for the
use of the market gardeners, is now
becoming very serious one for the
market gardeners, in such cities as
New York, where the manure from
the stables does not increase in the
ratio of the increase of the lands cul>
tivated, as, perhaps, halt of all the
products grown are shipped to ada
cent towns and cities. Still there
are few market gardeners who do not
use stable manure, which costs, when
tit to go on the land, from So to So
per ton. This is put on in spring, at
the rate of from fifty to seventy>tive
tons per acre. to which is often
supplemented halt ton of Peruvian
Guano or Bone Dust, which is sown
on and narrowed in on land, after the
stable manure has been pfoughed in.
A great variety of fertilizers are used
besides Peruvian Guano and Bone
Dust, such as Fish Goano, Dry Blood
Fertilizer, Blood and Bone Fertilizers
together with the various brands of
phosphates but the majority of cul.
tlvators prefer pure Bone Meal or
Peruvian Guano to all others. saw
a list the other day, wherein was. en-
umerated no less than1sixteen separate
xmas oi special fertilizers for thirty.
different crops, with the chemical
elements of each split down to even
one.halt OF one per cent. Now, |
know nothing whatever about aeri.
cultural chemistry, and it may be
presumption in me to criticize such
list yet when [ am told that one kind
of fertilizer is needed for cabbaoes.
and another for grass-plants, if not
OF the same family, at least, of the
same natural order-I am forced 10
the conclusion that science, so-callel,
is taking the place of common sense.
and is in direct opposition to the ex-
perience OF the practical farmer of
gardener in his operations in the soil.
In our market gardening and green.
house erations, we cultivate largely
nearly every known family of plants,
and in my long experience l have
yet to see fruit, flower, or vegetable
crop, that was not benefited, and
nearly in the same degree, by judi
cious application of pure Bone Dast;
and I would here suggest to the ad.
vocates OF special fertilizers, that in
their experiments they try equal
weights of pure Bone Dust, to the
half OF the crops of wheat, potatoes,
cabbage, or strawberries, being ex-
perimented OF by the Specials" and
note the results. do not mean to
be understood that these SO. called
special fertilizers do not answer the
purpose of the crop to which they
are applied; but what l protest
against is the hair.spliting distinc-
tions claimed for them, confusing and
troublesome TO the cultivator. if of
no practical value. American com
mercial florists have, for the past
quarter OF a century, utterly discard
ed the various formulas for prepara-
tion of different soils, for the various
families Of plants cultiva ted, so dog
matically insisted upon even yet by
most European gardeners and instead
of dozen different mould heaps.
usually one only is used, composed Of
three parts rotted stable manure: Vet