352 Report of the Horticultural Department of thr 



elusive that lettuce can be forced much more successfully by 

 using manure than by using commercial fertilizers alone. 



With the higher percentages of manure the influence of the 

 nitrogenous commercial fertilizers is much obscured as the vari- 

 able results with the 15 per ct. and 20 per ct. applications show, 

 but with the 5 per ct. and 10 per ct. applications results were 

 obtained which may give some indication of the comparative 

 value of these fertilizers when combined with the smaller per- 

 centages of manure. An examination of Tables V to IX with 

 reference to the variation in yield which followed the use of the 

 various nitrogenous commercial fertilizers in combination with 

 5 per ct. and 10 per ct. of manure shows that a better crop was 

 obtained with dried blood than with nitrate of soda in 16 tests, 

 while the reverse was found in but 3 tests, and in one test there 

 was no difference in yield. The yield with dried blood was better 

 than that with sulphate of ammonia in 7 tests while the reverse 

 was found in but three tests. The yield with dried blood was 

 better than with dried blood combined with nitrate of soda in 

 11 tests while the reverse was true in 9 cases. In many in- 

 stances the difl'erences in yield are too slight to be of themselves 

 significant but taken in the aggregate they do seem to indicate 

 that the dried blood combined with moderate quantities of 

 stable manure is more effective in stimulating the growth of 

 lettuce than either nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia 

 similarly combined. Also they indicate that the dried blood 

 does as well for this purpose when combined with manure as 

 does the combination of nitrate of soda, dried blood and manure. 



HOW MUCH MANURE SHOULD BE USED? 



The question then arises: How much manure may be used 

 with profit in forcing lettuce? According to our experience and 

 observation gardeners ordinarily use from 5 per ct. to 20 per ct. 

 by bulk and more often approach the 20 per ct. than the 5 per ct. 

 rate. The results where manure was used in combination with 

 dried blood will first be examined. They are arranged in the 

 following table such a way that the yield under each treatment 

 may be compared with the yield of the corresponding check. 



