24 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



proper proportions to secure best results ; but these effects fol- 

 low when they are greatly in excess. 



Except in few instances, fresh manure in the soil is not 

 beneficial, and its presence prevents close cultivation and 

 causes the land to dry out very quickly. Such manure does 

 not afford plant food for some time, since it must first be 

 thoroughly decayed before it is of any value to plants. Rotten 

 manure has much of its plant food in an available condition. 



Manure for Early and Late Crops.— Much more manure and 

 more thoroughly rotted manure is required for early than 

 for late crops. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that early 

 in the season fermentation goes on very slowly in the soil and 

 consequently plant food is liberated very slowly, and unless 

 plant food is supplied in a quickly available form it is of no 

 immediate use to the plant. On account of the rapid fermen- 

 tation which goes on in the soil later in the season, crops that 

 mature later than the middle of the summer may be able to use 

 the plant food that was locked up in fresh manure in the spring. 

 For instance, the results from fresh cow manure may be almost 

 nothing if applied in the spring to a crop of early cabbage or 

 spinach, while for a late crop of cabbage or for corn it may 

 answer very well. Where an abundance of well-rotted ma- 

 nure cannot be obtained in the spring and it becomes neces- 

 sary to use partially rotted manure for an early crop, it is a 

 good plan to use nitrate of soda or some other quick acting 

 fertilizer to afford plant food until the manure has rotted. 



Manures for Leguminous Crops.— Leguminous crops, such as 

 peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, etc., do not need as much nitro- 

 genous manure as most other crops that are so rich in nitro- 

 gen, since their presence encourages the growth of nitric acid 

 ferments in the soil. Such crops improve the land on which 

 they grow by increasing the amount of nitrogen in it, and in this 

 respect they are different from all other garden crops. 



Animal Manure should generally be spread evenly on the 

 land and then be thinly covered with the soil; yet for some 

 crops it may sometimes be most desirable to apply the man- 

 ure in the hill or furrow. The amount that should be ap- 

 plied per acre varies with the crop, soil, and manure, so 

 no exact rule can be given. For a midsummer or late matur- 

 ing crop, probably eight cords of well rotted stable manure 



