176 THE SPIRIT OF THE SOIL 



live results. It had been hoped that the infor- 

 mation gained this year would have made it 

 possible to lay down definite rules as to quantities 

 advisable in varying conditions, and so forth. At 

 present, unfortunately, one has still to be guided by 

 the experience gained in the market gardens. A diffi- 

 culty, however, that will occur to every practical 

 farmer can at once be stated and met. Inevitably a 

 large quantity of farmyard manure will be produced 

 year by year under present farming conditions, and 

 the supply will perhaps reach the half of all the 

 manure required on the farm. The question natur- 

 ally arises as to what is to be done with this manure 

 if humogen is used. Probably the best solution 

 would be to spread this over the whole farm, and to 

 supplement it with humogen. In this way the level 

 of the fertility of the soil would be raised to a higher 

 standard than has obtained in the past. Five hun- 

 dredweights of humogen to the acre applied in the 

 spring, top-dressed and harrowed in, should greatly 

 increase the yield of the farms if the results obtained 

 in small plot experiments hold good when the treat- 

 ment is transferred to the farm. Up to the present 

 the results are indefinite, and do not bear tabulation. 

 The results given in the appendices, with rare excep- 

 tions, are of a market garden or greenhouse order, 

 but it is hoped in later editions of this book that it 

 will be possible to give definite statements as to the 

 amounts of material used and so forth. Generally 

 one may advise the application of from 5 to 

 10 cwt. to the acre for roots generally, potatoes 

 especially responding well to the larger amount. 



