68 



the farm, the better quality of the tubers, especially in 

 the event of a droughty season, the better working 

 of the land for a number of seasons, the improved 

 drainage, and the long period for which the fer- 

 tility of the land is maintained, go to the credit of 

 the dung. 



The Application of Farmyard Manure. 



Farmyard manure should be put on the land in 

 autumn or winter when convenient, so that it may 

 become incorporated with the soil, and be able to 

 exert its mechanical and manurial influences when 

 they are required. Manure applied in spring fre- 

 quently hinders rather than advances the tillage 

 operations. When applied in the furrow, where 

 potatoes are planted on the Kidge, the only hindrance 

 is that of its application ; this is a serious one, as 

 good weather, which might be advantageously availed 

 of, has to be given up to the carting and spreading of 

 the dung, but otherwise the tillage work is not inter- 

 fered with. When applied in the autumn the dung 

 should not be decomposed too thoroughly, or much of 

 its value will be lost through the soluble portions 

 being washed out of the soil. Nor should it be too 

 fresh, or the manurial constituents may not become 

 available for the plant until late in the summer. This 

 is particularly the case where the potatoes are to be 

 dug early. It is the availability and not the mere 

 presence of the manure in the soil which makes it 

 valuable to a particular crop. The rottenness of the 



