MANURING 59 



surface manuring. We cannot command nature, but can 

 venture to assist her, and we can best do so by following 

 out and understanding to the full the methods she employs. 



The cacao-tree, although it likes a deep rich soil, is also 

 a surface-feeding plant, and the ground around the trees 

 cannot be dug or forked with impunity, for, although the 

 tree will stand considerable hardship, it is nevertheless 

 materially injured when the roots are mutilated. There 

 are conditions, however, such as when the surface soil 

 has been thoroughly baked by drought, when it would be 

 beneficial to prick it up lightly with a fork, taking care not 

 to break the roots (vertical forking). A slight forking is, 

 however, permissible at times, previous to applying farm- 

 yard manure upon the surface, having due regard, of 

 course, to what has been said in the foregoing remarks 

 on the injury caused by the injudicious use of fork and 

 spade. Manure applied to the surface should be covered 

 if possible with a thin layer of earth, but if applied in the 

 form of compost this is not so necessary an operation, 

 as the volatile constituents of the manure are then in a 

 great measure held fast. The clearing and shaping of 

 the drains will, as a rule, provide enough suitable material 

 for covering in dressings of manure. 



In applying chemical manures of a caustic character, 

 it is always well to mix them with a suitable proportion 

 of absorbent earth, and to cover again with a coating of the 

 same material.* The primary object in applying manure 

 is to maintain a due proportion of plant-food when land 

 has become exhausted of its natural constituents, or to 

 supply something in which the land is deficient. It is 

 of course patent that with the continued production of 

 annual crops a large quantity of material is removed from 

 the soil, and this must be replaced either by nature or 

 artificially, or the crop will fall short. Farmyard manure 

 takes a foremost position for this purpose amongst all 

 others, and long-continued practice shows that when 



* A very interesting lesson may be taught by the application of small 

 quantities of ammonia sulphate to living roots and noting result. 



