THE MANURING OF MARKET-GARDEN CROPS. 



1005 



Cauliflowers (Autumn-cut). 



We have recorded, up to 1901, the results of eight years' crops of 

 autumn Cauliflowers. 



Our plan of gathering the crop has been to go daily over the ground 

 during the flowering season and to gather and individually weigh each 

 head just as it has reached such a state of maturity that the flower shows 

 signs of beginning to "break." By gathering all the heads at the same 

 state of comparative maturity, the aggregate weights obtained from the 

 different plots are rendered comparable. 



The first five crops were grown on our original plan of manuring, and 

 the last three on the later plan, which includes increased dressings of 

 nitrate of soda. 



The following table gives the average results obtained over eight years 

 for the plots which were similarly manured during the whole of that time, 

 and it also shows the average for the last three years, including also, in 

 this case, the plots treated with larger dressings of nitrate. In this table 

 are given only the results obtained on the plots which received dung, with 

 or without chemical fertilisers. 



CAULIFLOWERS. 



1 



Animal manuring per acre 



Annual eost 

 of manure 

 per acre 



Average for eight years 

 (1894-1901) 



Average for three years 

 (1899-1901) 



Average 

 gross yearly 

 weight of 



heads 

 per acre ' 



*Average 

 weight 

 per head 



Average 

 gross yearly 

 weight of 



heads 

 per acre 



* Average 

 weight 

 per head 





£ 





d. 



tons 



cwt. 



lbs. 



tons 



cwt. 



lbs. 



50 loads (25 tons) London 





















Dung .... 



10 



0 



0 



16 



3 



3-87 



18 



1 



3-79 



25 loads (12f tons) London 





















Dung .... 



5 



0 



0 



13 



5 



3-16 



14 



1 



3-05 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates 





















(no Potash), and 





















2 cwt. Nitrate of Soda . 



6 



15 



0 



16 



11 



4-04 



18 



5 



4-01 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) . 



r 7 



5 



0 



17 



6 



417 



19 



10 



4-22 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates 





















(no Potash), and 





















4 cwt. Nitrate of Soda . 



7 



15 



0 



18 



11 



4-42 



21 



15 



4-49 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) . 



8 



5 



0 



19 



2 



4-52 



23 



16 



4-93 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates 





















(no Potash), and 





















6 cwt. Nitrate of Soda . 



8 



15 



0 









22 



17 



4-72 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) . 



9 



5 



0 









23 



1 



4-78 



* The " weight per head " average is not always proportional to the weight per 

 acre, as we have in later years planted our Cauliflowers closer together than in the 

 earlier years. 



Whether we regard the gross weight per acre or the average weight 

 per head of the Cauliflowers grown, we see at once that the heavy dressing 

 of dung, although it has increased the crop as compared with the light 

 dressing, has failed to give anything like the good results obtained by the 

 addition of chemical fertilisers to a lighter dressing of dung. 



Taking the eight years' average, the weight per head increases with the 

 increase in nitrate of soda up to 4 cwt. per acre. 



