CULTIVATION. 175 



general thing, a compost heap will be ready for use after 

 one or two years' storage. The quantity to be employed 

 in the case of each stock cannot be given in exact figures 

 owing to the variable composition of the mass ; at any rate 

 it may serve as a guide to state that, according to the 

 composition and degree of decomposition attained, from 17 

 to 33 lb. of compost will be enough for a stock, the actual 

 amount being determined according to local conditions. 



Experiment has shown that stall manure can be re- 

 placed for one or more seasons in hop gardens by artificial 

 fertilisers as well as by compost. According to Schofifi's 

 report in his work on hop cultivation in the Saaz district 

 (Saazer Hopfenbau) he obtained very good results with guano 

 for over thirty years in succession, without stall manure or 

 with only a very small quantity of the latter. He calculates 

 on a dressing of 35 grams ^ (If oz.) of guano per stock. 

 Now, the quantity of plant food in such a dressing is very 

 modest, and, whilst probably sufficing to restore to the soil 

 the quantity of material sold off the ground in the form 

 of cones, is not enough to maintain the garden long in a 

 fruitful condition. 



Dr. Stutzer, who advises that hops should be dressed 

 with stall manure and commercial fertilisers alternately, 

 recomnaends the following quantities for each plant : — 



Nitrate of soda 160 grams {5^ oz.) = 24 '80 grams N ; 

 superphosphate (16 per cent.) 100 grams (3| oz.) ; or Thomas 

 slag (16 per cent.) 200 grams (7 oz.) = 16 grams of phosphoric 

 acid (PjOj) soluble in water (32 grams soluble in citrate) ; 

 and sulphate of potash (50 per cent.) 90 grams (By oz.) = 45 

 grams KgO. 



1 Thirfcy-flye grams of guano, containing iO per cent, of N, 37 per cent, of 

 KjO, 16 per cent, of PjOg and 12 per cent, of GaO, are equivalent to 8-5 grams 

 of N, 1-05 grams of K^O, 560 grams of P2O5 and 4-20 grams of OaO. 



