Section VI.— FERTILIZERS IN RELATION 

 TO PLANT PRODUCTS 



Different crops require different fertilizers for their develop- 

 ment, but it must not be imagined that the fertilizers 

 required for a particular crop are specific types of mixtures. 

 Some general conceptions of the relationship between the 

 fertilizers and the crops are possible, however. Proper 

 manures for any particular crop always depend upon a 

 very large number of circumstances, many of which may be 

 peculiar to the district, and even to the particular field. 

 Mixtures sold as " turnip manure," " potato manure," etc., 

 can only give a kind of general average, and it is the business 

 of the farmer to understand his own land, and not leave 

 the management of it in the hands of somebody who has 

 never seen it. No proper idea of the manure required 

 for the crop can be obtained without a knowledge of the 

 system of rotation adopted, and although this may also 

 be worked down into general averages, again it is not a 

 subject of which the farmer can leave the details to a general 

 average of the country, but he must adopt his manure to 

 liis own particular requirements. Moreover, some land may 

 be naturally in a high condition, whilst other land may 

 be in a very low condition. One farmer may be justified 

 in building up the fertility of the soil to a much higher 

 condition, whilst another would not be justified in making 

 any such effort. At the present time, when prices are going 

 upwards, and while the relationship of labour to the farm 

 is being completely altered in the British Isles, ideas which 

 were formerly sound have become quite impracticable. The 

 question of the markets, the supply of labour, and the rent 

 of the land will always be in need of careful consideration. 



