THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 



though all other demands of the growing crops 

 have been attended to. 



To take up the whole subject of fertilizers 

 and their use in detail would require many 

 chapters; It Is well, therefore, to confine oneself 

 to a few general rules, which will sufficiently 

 cover most instances. There are three princi- 

 pal elements of plant food which are, as a rule, 

 lacking in soils, in available form — nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash. In well rotted 

 barnyard manure will be found all these ele- 

 ments so necessary to the growth of plants ; and 

 such humus composed of both horse and cow 

 manure, well mixed, containing liquids as well 

 as solids, Is better than any commercial fertil- 

 izers that can be purchased; for in addition to 

 its plant food constituents the humus added by 

 the bedding and the undigested food are of 

 great value to the soil in helping to open it up, 

 and so allowing the air and warmth to pene- 

 trate it. 



Unfortunately the supply of barnyard man- 

 ure Is generally limited, so we have either to 

 resort to horse manure from the city stables, 

 94 



