CHEMICAL MANURES. 87 



the mixing must be as perfect as possible ; if this is not done, the 

 little roots of the plant do not find the different agents at once, and 

 their good effects depend on their association. 



When you make the mixture yourself, it is necessary to procure 

 the acid phosphate of lime several months in advance. At the time 

 of preparation this product has a pasty consistence which makes it 

 difficult to mix, but at the end of two or three months it becomes 

 powdery. 



Here is the rest of the process. 



First, spread the phosphate of lime on the ground and then cover 

 it with plaster. In twenty-four hours mix the two products with a 

 shovel, and leave them in a heap for two or three days. Then spread 

 this on the ground and mix in the other products by a vigorous spad- 

 ing, and finish off by mashing the lumps with a pestle, made by fixing 

 a vertical handle in a piece of oak plank 8 or 12 inches in diameter 

 by 4 inches in thickness. The mixture finished, it is absolutely neces- 

 sary to pass it through a sieve and submit it to a new spreading. It 

 must be well borne in mind, in making this fertilizer, that each 

 thread-like root must be able to absorb all the products of the com- 

 position at the same time. Now, this result cannot be obtained if the 

 mixture is not homogeneous. 



The spreading of the chemical fertilizers also requires exceptional 

 care. The best, without comparison, is to make use of the admirable 

 machines now made for spreading pulverized fertilizers ; with them, 

 the result leaves nothing to be desired. If I add that an intelligent 

 spreading raises the return by two to four bushels of grain the acre, 

 you will see how important it is to be careful. 



If you do not possess a machine, and the spreading must be done 

 by hand, the best method is to mix it with its own volume of fine dry 

 earth and sow it broadcast like grain. When we work under these 

 conditions, the fertilizer had best be put in little heaps over the 

 ground on which it is to be spread. 



If the culture is one of legumes, peas or beans, the fertilizer must 

 be spread after the first working, and finish the thorough incorpora- 

 tion of it in the superficial soil by an energetic harrowing. 



For tap-rooted plants, which go down to a great depth, it is best 

 to spread the fertilizer twice half after the first working, and the 

 other half after the last working. 



The following is the process which has best succeeded with the 

 vine. 



Spread half the fertilizer on the, surface in tracts 12 inches wide 

 and 8 inches from the rows of vines, and turn it under deeply with 

 the spade ; the rest of the fertilizer is spread over the worked surface. 



This may also be done by the plough, always 8 inches distant from 

 the vine ; open the furrows 12 inches deep, spread half the fertilizer 

 on the bottom of the furrow, cover it with earth, and spread the rest 

 of the fertilizer over the surface. 



The vine should be manured in the fall. 



1 think it best for the meadow to spread half the fertilizer in the 

 fall, and the other half in the spring, after the first cutting. Choose 



