54 THE SOILS AND CROPS OF THE FARM. 



It would be better, in speaking of manures or of the 

 manurial value of foods, to say that the valuable plant 

 food elements they contain would cost a given sum, 

 rather than that the manure is worth that sum. The 

 actual value of any manure for a given piece of land 

 or for a particular crop on that land, can only be de- 

 termined by repeated trials. The physical effects of 

 stable manure and some other manures is often quite 

 as important as the addition of plant food by their use. 



In some countries where the soil has long been cul- 

 tivated and lands are high-priced, the purchase of 

 manures by farmers is the rule rather than the excep- 

 tion. Writing especially of English farming, War- 

 ington says: "The farmer is generally obliged to 

 purchase manures for the land in exchange for the 

 crops and stock sold off it." This practice is be- 

 coming more common in the United States but it is 

 s'ill the exception rather than the rule, taking the 

 country as a whole. It is most common in the older 

 settled portions of the country, near large cities, or 

 where attention is largely given to special crops. 

 The practice of purchasing both stable manure from 

 cities and artificial manures will doubtless become 

 increasingly necessary and profitable 



In some cases, but more commonly among market 

 gardeners than among general farmers, manures are 

 applied in such quantity as considerably to increase 

 the fertility of the land, even above that it possessed 

 when first cultivated. 



notable Manure. — The chief reliance of most farm- 

 ers in the United States, in the way of direct applica- 

 tion of manures, is stable or yard manure. The value 

 of this depends on its composition, condition and the 

 method of application. 



