and on them I would say that the result of applying equal values of
manure--stable and commercial--as to cost, would be from ten to
twenty-five per cent in favor of the commercial, as a stimulant to
apply in the spring, or, in small quantities, to plants first
starting. This does not apply to the first preparation of the ground.
In this direction I propose to experiment. I have heretofore applied
fertilizers early in spring by hand, distributing it along the rows."

Records of varying experiences, and the discussion of commercial
fertilizers, might be continued indefinitely, but enough has been
said, I think, to suggest to each cultivator unacquainted with the
subject in what directions he should seek success. If I were asked
what is the one special manure in which the strawberry especially
delights, I should answer unhesitatingly, the well decayed and
composted production of the cow-stable, and if the reader had seen Mr.
Durand's beds of the Great American variety in bearing, after being
enriched with this material, he would be well satisfied to use it when
it could be obtained. The vines of even this fastidious berry, that
falters and fails in most soils, averaged one foot in height, and were
loaded with enormous fruit. The subject may be summed up by an extract
from a letter of Mr. Alexander Hyde to the "New York Times":

"Nitrates, phosphates, and ammonia are good fertilizers, and just the
chemicals which most lands need, but plants require a good bed as well
as good food. The physical condition of the soil, as well as the
chemical, must receive attention; and we know of nothing superior to a
well-made compost for furnishing both the chemical and physical
conditions necessary for the development of our crops."