44 FERTILISERS AS AN AID TO 



liable to attacks of the disease called " finger and 



toe," "canker/ 1 or " anbury ," but 



Toe." 89 ' which is practically unknown on 



soils containing an appreciable 



amount of carbonate of lime. 



To avert this disease, when soils are known to 

 be deficient in lime, it is advisable to apply it 

 beforehand in one or other of the forms already 

 indicated (see Lime, p. 20). If Turnips, rather 

 than Mangolds, must be sown, only the hardier 

 types of Swedes should be seeded. 



Fine bone meal or steamed bone flour have 

 been found efficacious in warding off attacks of 

 this disease, so that it is advisable, unless a 

 liberal dressing of lime has been applied, to 

 derive some of the phosphates from one or other 

 of these neutral sources, and include same in the 

 mixture of a complete fertiliser. 



An interesting experiment was carried out by 

 the County of Devon Agricultural Committee 

 in 1910 as to the best manurial 

 me thods to adopt for Swedes grown 

 on soils deficient in lime and subject 

 to " finger and toe " disease. 



Speaking of the trial in question, the report 

 of the Committee states : 



' The experiment was carried out on a poor 

 type of land on the south-west border of Dart- 

 moor. The soil is derived from the lower 

 carboniferous shale. 



" Both the results of the field experiment and 

 the analysis of the soil show the need of phos- 

 phate and the lack of carbonate of lime .... 



