58 Home Vegetable Gardening 



from fifteen to twenty-five cords, or 60 to 100 cart- 

 loads, will not be too much; although if fertilizers 

 are used to help out, the manure may be decreased 

 in proportion. If possible, take it from the heap in 

 vvhich it has been rotting, and spread evenly over the 

 soil immediately before plowing. If actively fer- 

 menting, it will lose by being exposed to wind and 

 sun. If green, or in cold weather, it may be spread 

 and left until plowing is done. When plowing, it 

 should be completely covered under, or it will give 

 all kinds of trouble in sowing and cultivating. 



Fertilizers should be applied, where used to sup- 

 plement manure or in place of it, at from 500 to 

 1506 pounds per acre, according to grade and other 

 conditions. It is sown on broadcast, after plowing, 

 care being taken to get it evenly distributed. This 

 may be assured by sowing half while going across 

 the piece, and the other half while going lengthwise 

 of it. When used as a starter, or for top dressings 

 — as mentioned in connection with the basic formula 

 — it may be put in the hill or row at time of planting, 

 or applied on the surface and worked in during the 

 grow^th of the plants. In either case, especially with 

 highly concentrated chemicals, care must be taken to 

 mix them thoroughly with the soil and to avoid 

 burning the tender roots. 



This chapter is longer than I wanted to make it, 

 but the problem of how best to enrich the soil is the 



