Chapter XVII

COMMERCIAL SOURCES OF PLANT-FOOD 171-187
Acquaintance with terms 171
Nitrate of soda 171
Sulphate of ammonia 178
Dried blood 173
Tankage 174
Fish 175
Animal bone 175
Raw bone 177
Steamed bone 178
Rock-phosphate 178
Acid phosphate 180
Basic slag 183
Muriate of potash 184
Sulphate of potash 185
Kainit 185
Wood-ashes 185
Other fertilizers 186
Salt 186
Coal-ashes 187
Muck 187
Sawdust 187

CHAPTER XVIII

PURCHASING PLANT-FOOD 188-197
Necessity of purchase 188
Fertilizer control 189
Brand names 191
Statement of analysis 191
Valuation of fertilizers 193
A bit of arithmetic 194
High-grade fertilizers 196

CHAPTER XIX

HOME-MIXING OF FERTILIZERS 198-208
The practice of home-mixing 198
Effectiveness of home-mixing 198
Criticisms of home-mixing 199
The filler 202
Ingredients in the mixture 203
Materials that should not be combined 207
Making a good mixture 207
Buying unmixed materials 208

CHAPTER XX

MIXTURES FOR CROPS 209-219
Composition of plant not a guide 209
The multiplication of formulas 209
A few combinations are safest 210
Amount of application 211
Similarity of requirements 213
Maintaining fertility 215
Fertilizer for grass 216
All the nitrogen from clover 218
Method of applying fertilizers 218
An excess of nitrogen 219

CHAPTER XXI

TILLAGE 220-229
Desirable physical condition of the soil 220
The breaking-plow 221
Types of plows 221
Subsoiling 223
Time of plowing 223
Method of plowing 224
The disk harrow 225
Cultivation of plants 227
Controlling root-growth 227
Elimination of competition 228
Length of cultivation 229

CHAPTER XXII

CONTROL OF SOIL MOISTURE 230-236
Value of water in the soil 230
The soil a reservoir 231
The land-roller 232
The plank-drag 233
The mulch 233
Mulches of foreign material 234
Plowing straw down 235
The summer-fallow 235
The modern fallow 236