The Florida agriculturist., 1908-01-01
FERTILIZERS FOR TRUCK.
The Comparative Ments of Stable M
anure and Chemical Fertilizers IN
the Growing of Vegetables.

things that seem to be very insight
fcant at first thought, though of the
utmost importance if real success is
COurted.
AS a general thing, the earliest veg
etables command the highest prices Fl
they always do when raised in the
proper manner-and very often the
prices are fabulous.
In getting early vegetables ready
for the market, ordinarily, there seem
to be only two objects in view: viz.
to produce the largest to be had, and
to produce them in the very least pos
sible time In order to attain these
ends, it is usual to resort to the use
Of vast quantities of strong stable
manure, which results in very in
fcrior quality, with no flavor what
ever, and the only reason that such
vegetables command any price at all
is simply because there are none bet
ter to be had 1t is all right to use
such manure in the hot bed and a
goodly quantity may safely be used
in the cold frames, but when the
plants are transplanted to the open
ground they should be supplied with
the necessary elements Of plant food
in proportion to the demands of the
plant. Plant food is any element,
no matter if it is derived from the
soil, the air, or is artifcially supplied
in some form of fertilizer that will
nourish and sustain the plant when
taken into its body. There are about
thirteen elements, generally, incor
porated into the structure of most
vegetables, the pro rata varying to a
marked extent in the different plants.
Some authorities contend that some
of the elements that are contained in
the structure of the plant are not es-
sential. Let that be as it may, we
know positively that three of the e1e-
ments are essential and without them
it is impossible to produce a perfect
plant; that is, potash, phosphoric &C
id and nitrogen. AS before mention
ed, it is possible to produce large and
thrifty growths of some vegetables,
such as turnips, radishes, salads and
early cabbage, in very short time, by
the use Of stable manure, but the ex-
perienced eye can detect the lack of
potash in the soil where they were
grown at a glance, by the heavy, dark
green color. There is a vast
difference between a rich, dark
green color, produced by a nitrogen
Gus fertilizer in connection with plen-
ty Of potash and phosphoric acid and
heavy, or dead, dark green color
and the most inexperienced can easily
detect the lack of flavor and crispness
in the plant after it is prepared for
food. Then such vegetables cannot
be successfully shipped to market,
even if the demand for them were
good, because they decay very rapidly
after being severed from the soil.
There are many vegetables that
cannot be raised successfully, even if
the quality did not count for anything,
without the requisite amount Of pot
ash and phosphoric acid being in the
soil. Some of them are potatoes, to-
matoes and late cabbage. The de-
mands Of potatoes are especially
heavy for potash, as the potato con-
tains a great deal of starch, and
potash is essential to the production
Of the starchy substance contained
in tubers, grains and fruits.
In the case of tomatoes it is an
easy matter to get large growth of
vines with but little potash present
in the soil, but the fruit will decay
and fall from the vines before it is ma
tured, and what does ripen will be
considerably later than it otherwise
would be.
In order to produce an up-to-date
vegetable, one that natures at the
proper time and that contains the
flavor and appearance that will please
the most fastidious taste and criti-
cal eye, it is very essential that the
three elements, potash, phosphoric acid
and nitrogen be present in the sol
In an Available form and in nrOnOr-