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manure could be bought in the form of commercial 

 fertilizer for approximately $2.00, yet the results 

 secured by the application of this amount of plant 

 foods in the form of stable manure far exceed the 

 results secured by the application of a similar 

 amount in the form of mineral fertilizer. 



Stable manures should, therefore, be applied 

 primarily for their physical rather than chemical 

 effects upon the soil. This decaying material keeps 



the soil loose and 

 mellow, and open 

 to the ingress of 

 proper amounts of 

 air. It catches and 

 holds the moisture 

 readily and makes 

 the soil a splendid 

 place for the 

 growth and de- 

 velopment of bacteria, the little organisms always 

 active and always necessary in the proper breaking 

 down and setting free of the plant food in a form 

 available for plants. 



The relative merits of the different kinds of stable 

 or animal manures desirable for garden purposes 

 deserve some mention. Nine-tenths of the manure 

 used by gardeners will be horse manure. It is drier 

 than most other manures, looser in its texture and 

 breaks down and gives results more quickly than 

 most others. It decomposes rapidly under proper 

 conditions and develops an enormous amount of 

 heat, which, if not controlled by proper moisture 

 conditions, results in burning or fire-fanging, and 

 a heavy loss of ammonia or nitrogen. Excessive 

 quantities, especially when poorly decomposed, are 



SPRING-TOOTH HARROW 



