MANURES 45 



conditions are different. They are constantly being used 

 up either by plant growth or by climatic processes, and, 

 therefore, if we desire to produce satisfactory crops it 

 must be our first care to make up from time to time 

 whatever deficiency arises. This business when per- 

 formed rationally, that is to say, when due regard has 

 been taken of the need of the particular soil and the 

 special requirements of the crop to be grown on it, may be 

 called the science of manuring. 



Many growers are somewhat averse to thinking 

 scientifically when dealing with their plots and crops. 

 They know that manure is a good thing for growing 

 plants and, accordingly, they distribute manure along the 

 drills or trenches. Their fathers did so and so did their 

 forefathers, and they will follow their footsteps. Were 

 they to spend a moment or two in deciding the qualities 

 of their particular soil and in noting the varying require- 

 ments of the crops to be grown, not only would they 

 effect a great saving in manures, but they would also raise 

 crops which, having been better satisfied, would give far 

 finer yields. 



First of all, then, the grower must get some idea of 

 the quality of his land. In made-up gardens, this 

 will be rather difficult, for the soil will have been usually 

 imported. Still its qualities can be noted and a fair 

 impression gained. With allotment holdings, however, 

 the land will be usually the natural soil of the district 

 and its constituency can then be ascertained fairly 

 correctly. 



To assist in arriving at some useful conclusion, we 

 may say that, in a general way, most sandy soils lack 



