MANUEES AND FERTILISEKS. 25 



value in adding to the humus or organic matter in 

 the soil, improving the texture of the soil, and in- 

 creasing its water-holding and heat-absorbing powers. 

 Moreover, the application of farmyard manure con- 

 veys to the soil immense numbers of useful bacteria, 

 and afterwards, in decomposition, provides a suitable 

 medium for their increase, and for their activities in 

 breaking up crude materials and converting poten- 

 tial plant foods into a form in which the crops can 

 make use of them. 



When more than one kind of manure happens to 

 be available, such as horse and cattle manure or 

 horse and pig manure, or all three, it is better to 

 mix them together in a heap, as they then give better 

 results than when used separately. If it should be 

 necessary for the manure to lie for any length of 

 time in a heap it ought to be tramped or beaten 

 fairly firm as the heap is made, and afterwards covered 

 with a few inches of soil, in order to conserve the 

 ammonia, an important fertilising ingredient which 

 is converted into nitrogen in the soil. 



Farmyard manure, if of good quality, should be 

 applied to average soils at the rate of two to three 

 barrow-loads to 30 square yards ; about 1J tons 

 to an area of 300 square yards, or 20 to 24 tons 

 per acre. 



In the case of poor soils the quantity may be 

 considerably increased ; but for rich garden ground 

 which has been heavily manured for a long period, 

 and also in the case of a rich loamy soil freshly broken 

 in from an old pasture, the turf being incorporated, 

 rather less than the above quantities would be suffi- 

 cient if supplemented by suitable fertilisers, particu- 



