About 5 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia was sown broadcast to the square rod, or worked into the soil very thoroughly in the rows where the seed was to be sown. Superphosphate was applied at the same rate, but instead of sowing it broadcast, I aimed to get it as near the seed or the roots of plants as possible.
Half a teaspoonful of the mixture, consisting of equal parts of superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia, stirred into a large three gallon can of water, and sprinkled on to a bed of verbenas, seemed to have a remarkable effect on the size and brilliancy of the flowers.
Even to this day, although I have a good supply of rich barnyard-manure, I do not like to be without some good artificial manure for the garden.
MANURE FOR HOT-BEDS.
The best manure for hot-beds is horse or sheep-dung that has been used as bedding for pigs.
When fresh stable-manure is used, great pains should be taken to save all the urine. In other words, you want the horse-dung thoroughly saturated with urine.
The heat is produced principally from the carbon in the manure and straw, but you need active nitrogenous matter to start the fire. And the richer the manure is in nitrogenous matter, and the more thoroughly this is distributed through the manure, the more readily will it ferment. There is also another advantage in having rich manure, or manure well saturated with urine. You can make the heap more compact. Poor manure has to be made in a loose heap, or it will not ferment; but such manure as we are talking about can be trodden down quite firm, and still ferment rapid enough to give out the necessary heat, and this compact heap will continue to ferment longer and give out a steadier heat, than the loose heap of poor manure.
MANURE FOR NURSERYMEN.
Our successful nurserymen purchase large quantities of stable and other manures from the cities, drawing it as fast as it is made, and putting it in piles until wanted. They usually turn the piles once or twice, and often three times. This favors fermentation, greatly reducing it in bulk, and rendering the manure much more soluble and active. It also makes the manure in the heap more uniform in quality.
Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry tell me that they often ferment the manure that they draw from the stables in the city, and make it so fine and rich, that they get but one load of rotted manure from three loads as drawn from the stables. For some crops, they use at least 20 loads of this rotted manure per acre, and they estimate that each load of this rotted manure costs at least $5.00.