THE MANURING OF MARKET-GARDEN CEOPS. 



1017 



plots which are never dunged for any crop. In the ordinary market 

 garden there will be, in every field in every season, the residual dung of 

 previous years ; and our general advice to the market gardener with regard 

 to Brussels Sprouts would be to use no dung beyond what is already left 

 in the ground unconsumed by previous crops, but, for the immediate 

 manuring of the Sprouts, to rely wholly upon chemical fertilisers : 6 cwt. 

 of superphosphate — or 8 cwt. of basic slag — and 4 cwt. of kainit per acre 

 (or other phosphatic and potash dressings equivalent thereto) should be 

 well incorporated with the soil before the plants are set. As soon as the 

 plants are established, from 2 to 3 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre may be 

 sown between the rows, and an additional dressing of from 2 to 3 cwt. 

 per acre should be applied a month later. We can confidently predict 

 that in this way the market gardener will grow a larger quantity of 

 Sprouts than he would with a dressing of even 50 loads (25 tons) of dung 

 per acre without the aid of chemical fertilisers ; and he will at the same 

 time effect the very substantial saving of from £5 10s. to £6 10s. per 

 acre in the cost of manure. 



Summer Lettuces. 



In four of our experimental years, drought and the ravages of wire- 

 worm combined to prevent our getting anything like a regular plant of 

 Summer Lettuces. But in four seasons w T e grew very successful crops. 

 Indeed, in 1897 we were able to get two crops of Summer Lettuces in 

 succession off the same plots, without any additional manuring. 



The average results of the principal plots are set forth in the following 

 table : — 



SUMMER LETTUCES. 



Annual manuring per acre 



50 loads (25 tons) London Dung 



25 loads (12| tons) London Dung 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates (no Potash), and 



2 cwt. Nitrate of Soda .... 

 Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 

 25 loads Dung, Phosphates (no Potash), and 



4 cwt. Nitrate of Soda .... 

 Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 



Annual cost of 

 manure per acre 



£ s. d. 



10 0 0 



5 0 0 



6 15 0 



7 5 0 



7 15 0 



8 5 0 



Average weight 

 per Lettuce 

 (five crops) 



oz. 



12- 6 

 10-7 



13- 1 



12- 7 



13- 0 

 135 



In 1900 we also tried increasing the nitrate of soda used, in conjunc- 

 tion with dung and phosphates, to 6 cwt. per acre, but with no advantage 

 to the weight of the crop. 



It will be seen that the light dressing of dung (25 loads per acre) has 

 been on the average insufficient to produce a full crop ; and this has been 

 the case in every individual season of which the yields have been averaged. 

 In every one of the years the yield has been increased by increasing the 

 dung, but the increase thus obtained has not only cost an extravagant 

 sum of money, but has been decidedly inferior to the increase obtained 



