MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 15 



tion, the deposit of dew, so beneficial in dry weather, is 

 augmented; the temperature of the soil is increased by 

 the freer admission of warm rain and air, and by the 

 chemical processes thereby facilitated; and finally the 

 fertility of the soil is augmented through the ammonia, 

 nitric acid, etc., which are introduced with the air. The 

 plow, horse-hoe, and cultivator are to be used, whenever 

 available; but the hand-hoe must always be relied on for 

 the finer and more careful work, when, particularly in 

 the later stages of the crop, only superficial stirring is 

 advisable. When plants are grown in a crowded state, 

 darkness and want of air elongate the stems and leaves, 

 at the expense of the roots and of a general healthy con- 

 dition. The operations of thinning and hand-weeding 

 are performed in connection with hoeing, to admit a free 

 circulation of air around the remaining plants, and the 

 sun is permitted to have an immediate influence upon each, 

 developing the desired form, bulk, and other qualities. 



CHAPTER III. 

 MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 



Almost any soil may be so altered in its character by 

 judicious and plentiful manuring, as to be made fertile 

 enough to produce good and remunerative crops. Manure 

 is the most indispensable factor for success in market- 

 gardening, and must be applied in much larger quantities 

 than in any other branch of agriculture. The gardener 

 should never be restricted by a short supply to an inad- 

 equate application of manure, as the superior quality and 

 quantity of his crops will generally justify an apparently 

 lavish use. Knowledge of his soil, the peculiar requisites 



