V MANURES 91 



To continue using nitrates alone would be like the 

 Irishman who, having a note from his bank that he 

 had overdrawn his account and that they required 

 a remittance, sent them a cheque upon themselves 

 for the amount to make things square. 



Plenty of nitrogenous matters may be found in 

 the best of the solid and liquid natural manures 

 recommended, but these have to be changed into 

 nitrates by the action of the earth bacteria before 

 they can be assimilated by the Eose, so that the 

 stimulus is most immediate when applied in the 

 form of nitrates. Another important point about 

 the nitrates is that they are the very first of 

 manurial matters to be washed out of the ground 

 into the drains by heavy rainfall ; the soil does not 

 retain them so well as the other constituents of 

 manure, and of course they go soonest in a porous 

 or light soil. This points to the use of some nitrate, 

 or good natural liquid manure which would very 

 soon afford nitrates, in the growing season after 

 long and heavy rains, when the soil is known to be 

 well stored in other respects. Nevertheless, it 

 should be stated that there is some little nitrogen 

 in the rain itself, though not in ordinary water. 



Potash and Phosphates of Lime are much the 

 most important items, and the others, such as soda, 

 silica, &c., which are mostly present in very small 

 quantities, are generally disregarded, as they would 

 be present in sufficient quantities in almost all soils. 

 Silica means flinty particles. It may seem strange 

 to think of these as soluble, yet there is much silica 

 in corn, straw, canes, and tall grass stems, affording 

 the smooth surface, and the brittle sharp nature ; 

 and as Tea Roses are found to succeed in these soils 



