30 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. 



by Johnson to contain 0.53 per cent, of nitrogen. 

 Reckoning two-thirds of the solid and fluid droppings 

 saved, we have ten thousand pounds, or five tons of 

 manure to each horse, containing fifty-three pounds of 

 nitrogen. 



In his method of applying his manure the sensible 

 gardener will be governed by the nature of his soil and 

 manure, and by the kind of crop he wishes to grow. 



Half an inch of rain, although amounting to fourteen 

 thousand gallons, or fifty-six tons to the acre, would not 

 penetrate deeply into a heavy soil, hence in such a soil 

 long, partly unfermented dung would not, if buried 

 deeply, find sufficient moisture and air to support fermen- 

 tation and dissolve out the manure for the benefit of the 

 crop. A sandy soil favors decomposition, being more 

 permeable to air and moisture, and as roots penetrate 

 more deeply in a light soil, unfermented dung might be 

 placed five or six inches deep in such a soil. Upon a 

 dry, hot, light soil, manure of that description would be 

 too heating if near the surface. At the rate of eight 

 tons of manure to the acre, half an inch of rain would 

 furnish nearly a gallon to every pound, and in the case of 

 well-rotted or soluble manure, placed near the surface of 

 either heavy or sandy land, would convey the ingredients 

 of plant food in a dissolved state to the roots of plants. 

 On either heavy or sandy soil, therefore, well-rotted ma- 

 nure should be intimately mixed with the soil to the 

 depth of three or four inches, when applied broadcast, 

 and the nearer the surface, the finer should the soil be 

 pulverized to increase its absorptive power. Unless un- 

 fermented long manure is buried in a light soil, it had 

 better be not incorporated, but applied upon the soil as 

 a mulch. Such manure commingled with a heavy soil 

 would benefit it physically by rendering it more open for 

 admission of air, and the heat evolved would accelerate 

 growth. The observations above apply to land well- 



