CHAPTER XVII 



MANURES AND THE MANURING OF CONTINUOUS 



CROPS 



Once we have toned up the fertihty of the soil by the 

 continual home consumption of continuous crops, the 

 expenditure on artificials will be very light, but in the 

 initial stages we have to depend very much on artificials 

 for the production of these crops. In other words, the 

 policy recommended is to turn artificial manures into 

 fodder and forage crops, and then, by consuming 

 these, largely increase the available supply of natural 

 manure. Some farmers seek to improve their land by 

 buying a large amount of feeding stuffs, but all the 

 writer's experience goes to show that £i spent on 

 artificials from the standpoint of increased soil fertility 

 is worth as much as £8 spent on feeding stuffs. 



THE SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES OF MANURING 



There are four essentials of plant life — phosphates, 

 potash, nitrogen, and Hme. Completely abstract from 

 any soil any one of these four constituents, and it will 

 be found absolutely impossible to grow any plant in it. 

 That is to say, assuming a soil to be devoid of phos- 

 phates then the heaviest possible dressings imaginable 

 of potash, nitrogen, and lime will not make the soil 

 capable of maintaining vigorous plant life. 



Yet, whilst all crops require phosphates, potash, 

 nitrogen, and lime, they do not require them in the 

 3;ame proportion. Pasture land, for instance, responds 



