MANURES. 39 



these can be obtained, any loamy soil will do ; but in 

 every case the material to mix the fertilizers with must 

 be fairly dry and never in a condition of mud, the mean- 

 ing of the operation being that the material used is to act 

 as a temporary absorbent for the fertilizer. The com- 

 post must be thoroughly mixed, and if guano is used, it 

 being sometimes lumpy, it must be broken up to dust 

 before being mixed with the absorbent. 



The main object of this operation is for the better sep- 

 aration and division of the fertilizer, so that when ap- 

 plied to the soil it can be more readily distributed. Our 

 experiments have repeatedly shown that this method of 

 using concentrated fertilizers materially increases their 

 value probably twenty per cent. The mixing should be 

 done a few months previous to spring, and it should, after 

 being mixed, be packed away in barrels and kept in some 

 dry shed or cellar until wanted for use. Thus mixed, it 

 is particularly beneficial on lawns or other grass lands. 

 The quantity of concentrated fertilizer to be used is often 

 perplexing to beginners. We give the following as the 

 best rules we know, all derived from our own practice in 

 growing fruits, flowers and vegetables : 



Taking guano as a basis, we would recommend for all 

 vegetable and fruit crops, if earliness and good quality 

 are desired, the use of not less than 1,200 pounds per 

 acre (an acre contains 4,840 square yards), mixed with 

 two tons of either of the materials before recommended. 

 Of bone dust about one ton per acre should be used, mixed 

 with three tons of soil or of the other materials named. 



For market garden vegetable crops in the vicinity of 

 New York, this quantity of guano or bone dust is har- 

 rowed in, after twenty-five or thirty tons of stable manure 

 have first been plowed in, so that the actual cost of 

 manuring each acre is not less than $100, and often $150. 



When fertilizers are used alone, without being mixed 

 with the absorbent, they should be sown on the soil, after 



