The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-07

in summer and have n fine bloom, but
IL VIII be useless In winter. and really.
in winter, there Is nothing better than
Eeraniums and the primula have men
toned. You can get these of various
colors. from white to magenta. a neat
palm can be used in the centre of the
window for decorative effect. In win
ter you can bloom some bulbs. and n
plant of imantophyllum miniatum has
good foliage and blooms it's orange
colorcd lily-like flowers finely in WIN
dows and stand for years In one pot
Get Il catalogue Of some Of the leading
florists and study what they say in
regard to house plants. \ long win
dow box placed outside the window in
summer and planted with II variety OF
plants is always interesting.
Percentage In Fertilizers.
II Is rather amusing TO note that the
word per cent or percentage seems TO
be a puzzle to otherwise very intclli-
gent farmers one asks me: How
many pounds OF potash is there in a
ton OF kninit Of u per cent, or in a
ton OF muriAte OF potash OF so per
cent? You simply fail TO understand
that per cent Is merely an Authorization
OF the Latin pcrccntum, or 100. Twelve
per cent. then, In a ton Of kain!t means
that there are twelve pounds Of potash
in each 100 pounds. or go pounds In
the ton. The fnurate Of potash has
80 pounds In each 100. or 900 pounds
-
cheaper TO buy the Guriatc. because
you have TO freight but fourth as
much as If YOU bought kainit 10 get
potash.
1t is easy. then, to figure the per
centages in Ii fertilizer mixture If you
know the percentages In the materials
used, For Instance If you want a fer
tilizer to contain per cent OF phos-
phor!c acid in a ton hy using the Is
per cent acid phosphate. zach 100
ID.
teen pounds OF phosphoric acid. and s
per cent OF n 2.o00 pound ton VIII be
$50 pounds Then at ono. that
1000 pounds OF the lG per cent goods
will give US the 5 per cent wanted.
And so II Is with all the other mate
rials used in mixing fertilizers You
simply need to know the percentage
of nitrogen or potash o. phosphoric
acid in the article used, and you can
make up any formula YOU may wish.
Ammonia and Nitrogen.
writers IN the papers write about
nitrogen, but have never seen
nitrogen marked on = sack Of fertilizer,
but ammonia. What * the difference.
The fertilizer manufacturers use the
name ammonia, because II makes the
figures look larger than II they put
the actual percentage OF nitrogen. AM
luonia Is a hydridc OF nitrogen, about
81 per cent nitrogen y sack with
per cent ammonia marked on II, VIII,
therefore, have about l.65 per cent OF
nitrogen. and IL i nitrogen we want.
rather than ammonia. Plants do not
use ammonia at all until il has passed
through the nitrihcntion process in tho
soil. through the action OF the soil
bacteria, and has been changed to a
nitrate Then plants can use II, and
not before. Hence II lS easy TO see
how the nitrate % soda applied to crops
stimulates them at oncc. Tor II i very
soluble ana presents the nitrogen in
the very form in which plants use il,
and the only form in which they use
nitrogen " hat the law should conn 81
is that the fertilizer manufacturers
shall put Oh the sacks simply the actual
percentage OF nitrogen, phos phoric
acid and potash, and not lot Of equal
to" this, that OF the other thing. which
Is not in the sack at all, and which
tends to confuse the farmer.
Dissolved Bone and Dissolved Rock.
How much better Is tho phosphate
made from dissolved bone than that
made by dissulving TIE phosphate
rock There is not a particle of diff
ference between tho phosphorlc acid
from bone and that from rock They
are one and the same thing. Manu-
facturcrs imagine that farmers think
tho phosphate from bones is better
than that from rock, and they often
call their goods bone phosphate when
there has not been a particle OF bone
used in the making All that in
terests the farmer is the actual amount
OF available phosphorus acid in tile
article, and II does not make a par
ticlc of difference whether II came from
bone or rock
bushes md Ditch Banks.
How shall clear my ditch banks
of elder? other bushes can be killed
by cutting in the fun moon in August,
but the elder keeps on
The full moon In August or any other
"a a. Kill
ing Of bushes The best way to keep
ditch banks clean is not TO have any
ditch banks. Ii YOU are obliged to
have open bitches put the horse scoop
at work and slope the banks back till
YOU have regular slope TO the bot
tom of the ditch. and then YOU can
cultivate right down TO the drain, and
the ditch Will do more drainage for
having the bank scoopcd back. and the
centre OF the drain can he kept open
with n pillow. II is simply shaping tho
land into broad lands, draining each
way to the drain Then you will not
have ditch banks to worry you, but
good crops right to the drain But to
kill elder or any other bushes there is
no special time to cut them after let
ting them grow. for no matter when
the cutting is done, If II is only done
once year, the bushes will always be
there. The only way to Kill them is
not to allow them TO make green tops
above ground. Keep them cut down.
fun moon or dark, August or April.
and the roots will soon die but If You
allow them to grow month after month,
the one cutting will not kill anything.
But AS | have said, the best thing is
to have no ditch banks.
InOcuIntcd Soy Hcnns.
II am planting between the hills Of
corn, and In the same row, SOY beans
treated with Farmogerm. Will this
take the place of an application OF nj
trate Of soda later. or any part of 1t,
on this corn crop? | generally apply
90 pounds of nitrate of soda to corn
when In the ear Farmogerm IS
laboratory culture of the bacteria that
live on the roots of the leguminous
PLANTS and enable them to get nitrogen
from tho air. You seem to think that
it directly adds nitrogen like the nitrate
does. The planting of the beans and
their getting nitrogen will to some eX-
tent leln the aud 81 n nialia.a L.,