170 POPS. 



32'1 per cent, of the potash and 26'3 per cent, of the nitro- 

 gen.i 



The question whether, in hop gardens, the manure should 

 be appHed direct to the stocks, along the rows, or over the 

 entire surface of the garden, has already been repeatedly 

 ventilated. Under existing circumstances, however, the 

 consensus of practical opinion is rightly in favour of the 

 first-named procedure. 



In supplying plant food to the soil the following funda- 

 mental rules should be acted upon. In the first place, the 

 manure must be applied in such a manner that its con- 

 stituent materials can be utilised to the utmost possible 

 extent ; and furthermore, for economical reasons, the quan- 

 tity of manure must be the smallest consistent with the 

 production of a good crop. Both these conditions can only 

 be fulfilled, when hops are in question, by manuring the 

 stocks. 



It is an undoubted fact that the absorption, i.e., the utilisa- 

 tion, of plant food is greater in proportion as the material is 

 closer to the assimilative organs of the roots. If, however, 

 it be remembered that the hop plant develops a widely ex- 

 tended root system, and that the finer rootlets, occupying 

 an area of about 40 inches in diameter around the plant, 

 constitute the organs of assimilation, it will be evidently 

 preferable to spread the manure over the aforesaid area than 

 to apply it direct to the stock, the 'latter being, in fact, an 

 injurious procedure, for self-evident reasons. 



On the other hand, manuring the rows or the entire 

 surface of the garden would necessitate the application of a 

 very considerable quantity of manure, and would result in 

 the waste of a portion of the nutrient materials, especially 



' In the absence of any decisive proofs to the contrary based on thorough- 

 going investigation, this return of matter to the roots must be regarded as 

 actually occurring. 



