TKIJCK I'AKMIJSO. 



591 



timato. Below will be found u table giving^ the chemical coDstituents 

 of 75 tons of stable maimre and of 50 tons of cabbaj^es, from which may 

 be seen that the demands of such a crop are far short of the quantities 

 of plant- food contained in the manure: 



The Idud of vegetable and closeness of the stand will usually deter- 

 mine the quantity to be applied ; it has, however, become proverbial 

 with the market gardener that " the last load pays best." 



For all close crops, like cabbage and potatoes, requiring liberal ferti- 

 lizing, at least a part of the manure should be broadcasted, Tbe most 

 successful truck farmers in the vicinity of Savannah, operating on an ex- 

 tensive scale, broadcast for these crops about twenty loads of 30 bushels 

 each, using the Kemp & Burpee spreader, and an additional twenty 

 loads in the drill, supplementing the latter with either 700 pounds best 

 Peruvian guano, or half a ton of lish scrap ])or acre. This rich, moist, 

 fermented manure, sometimes mixed with night soil, must weigh about 

 45 pounds per bushel, or 1,350 i)ounds per load, which would aggregate 

 27 tons of supplemented stable manure per acre. Neither in the appli- 

 cation of manures, nor in any of his other operations, should the intelli- 

 gent member of any branch of agriculture be empirical. The physical 

 nature of his soil, and the peculiar root growth of any special crop, must 

 govern him more than other considerations. As stated in the paragraph 

 on soils, manure may be applied deei)er in light than in heavy land. The 

 general farmer will not manure his surface-rooted small grain and his tap- 

 rooted cotton (which also makes deep lateral roots 12 feet long) in the 

 same manner, nor should the truck farmer, on laud of identical physical 

 character, do so with his radishes or snap-beans, and his cabbages. No 

 rule then will suit all cases. Generally it is advisable, however, what- 

 ever be the nature of the soil, to place at least a jjart of the manure 

 where the roots of the plant in its first stages of growth may reach it, 

 in order that it may acquire a youthful vigorous start. Manure may be 

 placed more deeply for tap-rooted plants than for such whose roots 

 ramify through the soil near the surface but do not penetrate it deeply. 



Plants growing through the heat of midsummer are apt to send tlreir 

 roots deeper into the soil than those confined to an early season ; but 

 the crops of the track farmer, with the exception of the watermelon — and 

 that delights in heat and comparative dryness — are all of early maturity. 



Many truck farmers are now adopting the plan of dividing the manur- 

 ing, and claim advantages for the new method. They apply stable ma- 

 nure in the drill, and during growth, when the x)lant most needs stimu- 

 lating, using an easily soluble ammoniated commercial fertilizer on each 

 side of the rows. It is either applied on the surface and hoed in, or most 

 frequently the crop is barred off and the fertilizer deposited in the fur- 

 rows. In an essay like this space will not permit a dissertation on all 

 the various manures and fertilizers which may be utilized in truck 

 farming. 



