MANURES. 



27 



cabbage or spinach, while for a late crop of cabbage or for 

 corn it may answer very well. Where an abundance of well- 

 rotted manure cannot be obtained in the spring and it becomes 

 necessary to use partially rotted manure for an early crop, it 

 is a good plan to use nitrate of soda or some other quick acting 

 fertilizer to afford plant food until the manure has rotted. 



Manures for Leguminous Crops. — Leguminous crops, such as 

 peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, etc., do not need as much nitro- 

 genous manure as most other crops that are so rich in nitro- 

 gen, since their presence encourages the growth of nitric acid 

 ferments in the soil. Such crops improve the land on which 

 they grow by increasing the amount of nitrogen in it, and in 

 this- respect they are different from all other garden crops, and 

 are sometimes referred to as nitrogen producers and other 

 crops as nitrogen consumers. 



Animal Manure should generally be spread evenly on the 

 land and then be thinly covered with the soil; yet for some 

 crops it may sometimes be most desirable to apply the manure 

 in the hill or furrow. The amount that should be applied per 

 acre varies with the crop, soil and manure, so no exact rule can 

 be given. For a midsummer or late maturing crop, probably 

 eight cords of well rotted stable manure per acre would be suf- 

 ficient in almost any case, and much less will sometimes be 

 enough, while for an early crop twice as much rotted manure 

 might be used to advantage. Well rotted manure should be 

 covered with soil soon after it is applied to the land, or it may 

 waste by drying. If it is put on frozen land it may waste by 

 the soluble parts being washed away. But in the case of fresh 

 animal manures there is little chance of loss in these ways. 



The effect of the application of animal manures to the land 

 will remain apparent for several years. It is generally consid- 

 ered safe to estimate that not more than one-third the full value 

 of these manures is taken up by the crop growing on the land 

 the year it is applied. 



Manure the Growing Crop. — Sometimes a crop comes to a 

 standstill on account of having exhausted the available ferti- 

 lizing material in the soil. In such cases it may be a good 

 plan to fertilize the growing crop with hen manure, nitrate of 

 soda or other quick acting fertilizer and cultivate the land at 



