VEGETABLE CULTURE 129 



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the quantity to be applied and the crops to which they may be 

 applied, as well as respecting the kinds of soils in which they will 

 benefit particular sorts of plants, are not at present sufficiently 

 complete for any full and detailed rules to be laid down as to the 

 use of artificial ^manures on garden crops. Generally speaking, 

 nitrates favour the production of foliage, potash the production 

 of carbohydrates, while phosphates appear to improve the quality 

 of the crop. Nitrate of soda certainly tends to produce heavier 

 crops of cabbages, and sulphate of potash in most soils and 

 seasons gives an increased crop of potatoes. Kainit is not so 

 good for garden crops, since the considerable amount of magnesium 

 which it contains (and possibly the chlorine also) appears to 

 exert a harmful effect. Kainit may, however, be applied in 

 autumn on rather heavy soils which contain grubs, for it acts 

 as an insecticide as well as a manure. 



There is a considerable field for simple experimental work 

 in school gardens on the effect of various artificial manures, 

 and teachers are recommended to arrange trial plots or trial 

 rows with this object in view. The quantity of artificial manures 

 to be applied may vary between two and five pounds per rod. 

 Most of them are fairly soluble in water (nitrate of soda is readily 

 soluble), and they are in consequence best applied as a top 

 dressing to the young growing crop. 



Of other manures used in the vegetable garden we may 

 mention liquid farmyard manure, which is a valuable form for 

 application to cabbage plants. Soot is sometimes used as a top 

 dressing, partly for the nitrogen which it always contains, and 

 partly to prevent attacks from slugs. If a bag of soot is sus- 

 pended in a tub of water, a weak nitrogenous solution is obtained, 

 which may be used for watering young tender plants. Guano 

 (nitrogenous and phosphatic) is frequently applied as a top dressing 

 to flowers, but is seldom used for manuring vegetables. 



ARRANGEMENT OF THE VEGETABLE BEDS. 



As a rule the rows of vegetables should run north and south, be- 

 cause in this way only shall we secure that each individual plant 

 receives its fair share of sunlight. For purposes of change of ground, 



VOL. V. 9 



