THE MANURING OF MARKET-GARDEN CROPS. 



1029 



PARSNIPS. 



Annual manuring per acre 



Annual cost 

 of manure 

 per acre 



Weight of Parsnips per acre 



Average of first 1 Average of last 

 four seasons three seasons 





£ 



S. 





tons 



cwt. 



tons 



cwt. 



50 loads (25 tons) London Dung (applied to 

















previous crop) ...... 



25 loads (12^ tons) London Dung 





nil 





10 



18 



11 



11 





nil 





9 



3 



8 



18 



25 loads Dung (to previous crop) ; Parsnips 

















dressed with Phosphates (no Potash) and 

















2 cwt. Nitrate of Potash .... 



1 



15 



0 



10 



19 



8 



18 



uitto, aitto (vwtn .rota&nj .... 



2 



5 



0 



11 



5 



10 



15 



No previous Dung ; Parsnips dressed with 

















Phosphates (no Potash) and 4 cwt. Nitrate 

















of Soda 



2 



15 



0 



7 



10 







Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 



3 



5 



0 



8 



11 







No previous Dung ; Parsnips dressed with 

















Phosphates (no Potash) and 8 cwt. Nitrate 

















of Soda ....... 



4 



15 



0 







4 



6 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) . 



5 



5 



0 







8 



6 



It will be here seen that, on land from which dung has been con- 

 tinuously withheld, potash, in the last three years, nearly doubled the 

 crop, although phosphates were applied in liberal abundance, and nitrate 

 of soda to so large an extent as 8 cwt. per acre. In their special demand 

 for potash, Parsnips resemble Carrots and Onions, and are in striking 

 contrast to most of the crops of the Cabbage tribe, as evidenced by our 

 already reported experience. 



Celery. 



We have before pointed out that our soil happens to be anything but 

 an ideal soil for Celery growing. Celery likes a loose, friable, sandy soil, 

 while ours is a stiff agricultural clay loam. It is also a crop which, in 

 ordinary market gardening, is far more heavily dunged than perhaps 

 any other market garden crop. Indeed, when grown in the kitchen 

 garden, it may be said to be frequently grown rather in than ivith dung. 

 Nevertheless, for five years we cultivated each year a series of Celery 

 plots in the same manner as our other vegetables, the only difference 

 being that the chemical fertilisers were sown in the trenches in which 

 the Celery was planted instead of being spread broadcast. 



The dry weather which we experienced during those five seasons 

 aggravated the natural unkindness of our soil towards a crop like Celery. 

 Nevertheless the crop, though small, was in most of the seasons suffi- 

 ciently large to be marketable, and the results were on the average 

 sufficiently interesting to be worth recording. It will be seen that 

 chemical dressings in addition to 25 loads of dung per acre did little 

 or no good unless the quantity of nitrate of soda amounted to 2 cwt. 

 per acre, and that 4 cwt. of nitrate per acre (with phosphates, of 

 course) gave the best results, particularly when potash salts were 

 added. A few hundredweights of superphosphate or basic slag, 4 cwt. 

 of nitrate of soda, and 4 cwt. of kainit (or 1 cwt. of sulphate of potash) 

 added to 25 loads of dung per acre, increased the average weight of 

 the plants by over 40 per cent., while 25 loads of extra dung per acre 



