8 CARROTS, MANGOLDS AND SUGAR BEETS. 



which contain in greater or less proportion, all the elements 

 required, are so difficult to handle in just the proportions that 

 would be required from the chemical standpoint, particularly 

 when we consider that soils on which root crops are grown 

 are usually rich in manures, varying in their chemical constit- 

 uents, left over from former crops ; — for this reason I treat of 

 manure by the cord and with reference to its comparative 

 strength, bulk for bulk, rather than of its chemical elements. 

 Eight cords of good stable manure, nine cords of a com- 

 post made of one part night soil to two parts muck or loam ; 

 twelve cords of a compost made of one-third fish waste, by 

 which I mean the heads and back-bones of the fisheries, and 

 two-thirds soil ; eight cords of muscle mud ; six or eight 

 cords of rotten kelp — either of these applied to an acre of 

 land in good condition by previ dus high cultivation would 

 be sufficient lor a good crop of carrots. Other manures 

 might be mentioned, but these will serve as a pretty good 

 •measure of vakie for any kind accessible to farmers in gener- 

 al To produce a very large crop such as one would like to be 

 able to point to when premium crops are called for, add from 

 one quarter to one-half to the above quantities. The condi- 

 tion of the manure is a matter of importance ; the stable ma- 

 nure should be good ; not half bedding, not burnt, neither 

 too coarse nor too new ; the night soil should have been well 

 mixed with the soil in the compost heap, and have been pitched 

 over twice with sufficient intervals between to allow it to devel- 

 op some heat. The fish waste should be well decomposed, 

 so well that all but the bones should have disappeared, and if 

 these be very dark and brittle so much the better. The mus- 

 cle mud should be rich in dead muscles. In all farming it 

 is important that the manures applied should be in a fine con- 

 dition mechanically, and particularly is this true of root crops. 

 For the roots of all plants can take up only such parts of th e 



