MANURES AND THEIR USES. 
221 
his land for the smallest possible outlay. To do this he must 
spare no pains to nourish his crops on the particular foods best 
suited for them. The true economy of manure can only be 
understood by becoming acquainted with the special characters 
and capacities of the crops cultivated. The composition of a 
crop is no sufficient guide to the character of the manure appro- 
priate to it, even when the composition of the soil upon which it 
is grown is known. It is not only the materials required to form 
a crop, but the power of the crop to assimilate the materials, 
which must form the basis of judgment. These principles have 
been much overlooked by many scientific writers, who have 
advised the manuring of land in every case with all the con- 
stituents required by the crops. This is both impracticable and 
unnecessary. In the case of an absolutely barren soil it might 
be necessary to supply all the constituents of plant-food before 
good garden crops could be raised ; but this would not be required 
under any ordinary circumstances. 
When garden land is in a fairly good condition the total 
amount of plant-food is considerable, and luxuriant growth may 
be obtained by adding to the stores of the soil the few particular 
elements of food which the crop it is wished to grow has most 
difficulty in obtaining. 
Storage of Manure. 
Great care must be taken with the stable and farmyard 
manure in its storage and treatment, and that it may produce 
the best results the gardener must use his judgment as to when 
and how to apply it. 
In a great many cases the management and use of stable and 
farmyard manure is not so carefully attended to as it ought to 
be. Valuable liquids are allowed to drain away into ditches and 
drains. Fermentation is allowed to go on too vigorously, result- 
ing in a great loss of carbonate of ammonia ; and insufficient 
and inferior bedding is used as litter, &c. 
A gardener, therefore, who purchases artificial manures, but 
does not look carefully after the drainings of stable or farm, is 
an extravagant gardener, for he brings the same article upon his 
garden that he might have gratis if he took more care. 
In applying artificial manures the gardener should have a 
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