MANURING., 143 
also fail in due course, and with it the supply of 
carbonic acid, and the alkalies will remain latent. 
9.--One object of manuring should be to keep the 
soil well stored with hunius, and that will ensure a 
goo supply of available alkalies. ' 
- 10.—Where fruit is:the object of cultivation, nitro- 
genous manures are necessary ; the mineral elements 
alone, however abundant and available, will not en- 
sure fruit. : 
11.—Without a due supply of alkalies the tree will 
not ficurish, and nitrogenous manur s alone will soon 
render the best soil barren. : ek 
12.—The method of applying these principles will 
vary according to circumstances. Nature should be 
imitated as much as possible; the whole bulk of the 
soil should be supplied with the two kinds of man- 
ures, so that the whole mass of the roots may per- 
term their vital function. ‘ 
13.—The application of manure to land bearing av- 
nual crops is easy; but if trees are cultivated, the 
extent to which their roots may be prudently dis- 
turbed must be considered. ; 
14, —Humus absorbs and is highly retentive of moist- 
ure, so that the more a soil contains the less is it 
likely to be affected by drought. . 
15.—The best season for the application of manure 
is a very important question; if the roots of trees 
are cut during dry weather, their supply of moisture 
is curtailed; if nitrogenous manures are applied too 
shortly before the heavy rains, their soluble matter 
is liable to be carried away. 
By. humus is meant the vegetable matter that has 
decomposed and become part of the soil. 
By alkalies—the parts of a plant not dissipated by 
burning. y 
i6.—With regard to practice upen the above prin- 
riples,; my opinion, founded upon observation, is that 
a supply of available alkalies should be kept up by 
the regular application of vegetable matter; the soil 
will then be always ready to receive and make the 
most of the nitrogenous or fruit-forcing manures. 
17:—Manuring is not the only method by which 
the fertility of the soil may be kept up or restored, 
good agriculture will take advantage of the elements 
of fertility supplied by nature, 
18.—Rain carries with it much carbonte and nitro- 
genous matter, which it yields up to the soil to the 
extent of their absorbing power. 
i9.—The absorbing power of soils varies according 
to their chemical compositions, their texture, and the 
depth to which the rain can soak and pass freely 
through. 
