75' 

 per ;u TC. 



170 Ibs. superphosphate containing jo phosphoric acid 35'.? Ibs. 



74 Ibs. sulphate of potash containing 50 p;>t;ish ... 37-0 Ibs. 

 105 Ibs sulphate of ammonia containing _>o ",, nitrogen 35-0 Ibs. 



Then, from the weight of the crops the amounts of these plant 

 foods which are annually carried away can be calculated from the 

 tablcson pages oSi to ()8_>. That carried away by the crops, subtracted 

 from the amounts added in the manure, will leave either a plus or a 

 minus quantity for each of the plant foods. Where a minus 

 quantity occurrs it must be made good in the next year's manuring, 

 and where a plus quantity occurs it can be credited to next year's 

 manuring, thereby keeping a constant balance of plant food in the 

 soil. It must be remembered that leguminous crops take little or 

 no nitrogen from the soil, on the contrary, they generally enrich the 

 soil with nitrogen. 



Anyone wishing to commence these tests and desiring fuller 

 information on any point can have it on applying to the Secretary of 

 the Bureau of Agriculture ; and after having conducted his experi- 

 ments can, by sending the full data of the seeds and manures used, 

 \vith the complete we ght of the crops removed, have the 

 conclusions to be arrived at from the data sent, forwarded to them. 



The great aim of manuring is to produce a full crop by 

 supplying food readily available to the plant. Once more I repeat 

 it is more economical to manure the plant than the soil, giving in 

 unstinted quantities where required ; when the requirements of the 

 soil are not known it is always best and cheapest to supply a 

 complete manure containing phosphoric acid, potash and nitrogen, 

 excepting the last in the case of leguminous crops. Manuring 

 should be done with discretion, a judicious but not too large 

 a supply of any of the elements of plant food that may be required 

 must necessarily increase the profits of the farmer. Too heavy an 

 application of manures does not produce sufficient increase in" the 

 crop to compensate for the extra cost, in some cases it may be 

 actually injurious. 



In manuring it would be as well to remember : 



1. That wheat and oats require more nitrogen than rye and 

 barley. 



2. That a dry light soil requires more nitrogen and potash 

 than a clamp, heavy one. 



3. That organic soils or those rich in humus, require more 

 phosphoric acid and less nitrogen (nitrate) than soils poor in 

 organic matter. 



4. That if the previous crop was a nitrogen gatherer, that is, a 

 leguminous crop, a less quantity of nitrogen is required for the 

 next crop. 



5. That if the previous crop was a nitrogen consumer, that is, 

 cereals, potatoes, etc., a large quantity of nitrogenous manure is 

 required to keep the soil in a fertile condition. 



