THE MANURING OF MARKET-GARDEN CROPS. 



1031 



regard weight alone, can it be said that the addition of the chemical 

 dressings to the lighter dressing of dung has been very effective, though 

 in two years out of the three it was nearly as productive as the extra 

 dung, and at a far less cost. But quality must be regarded as well as 

 weight ; and we have frequently observed that the plants raised by dung 

 and chemical fertilisers mixed have been crisper and more tender than 

 those grown with dung alone. The nitrate of soda appears to render the 

 growth more rapid and to diminish the strength and toughness of the 

 fibro-vascular bundles, and to develop rather the growth of soft or paren- 

 chymatous tissue. 



In 1900 we grew a fine crop without the use of any dung at all, 

 by using as much as 8 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre, in addition to 

 phosphates and potash salts ; but the Celery thus grown, although equal 

 in quality to any of the rest, weighed less than that produced on the 

 plots on which dung was used ; and, on the average of the three years, 

 the fully manured chemical plot without dung has grown a much smaller 

 crop than the dunged plots. 



Spinach. 



Summer Spinach is a crop the growth of which is much dependent 

 upon summer rain, and several of our crops of this vegetable have, in 

 consequence, been small, though in other years we have grown very 

 good ones. 



Of Winter Spinach we have only, up to 1901, grown two crops. 



Spinach is heavily affected by chemical fertilisers, and, by a liberal 

 application of them, can in favourable seasons be grown well without dung. 

 Nevertheless, a light dressing of dung is desirable for the mechanical 

 purpose of retaining moisture in the soil. 



The following table shows the average results obtained by us with 

 Summer Spinach over seven years (1895 to 1901 inclusive), and also shows 

 separately the average results obtained during the last three years, when 

 heavier dressings of chemical fertilisers were included in the experiments : — 



SUMMER SPINACH. 



Annual manuring per acre 



Annual cost 

 of manure 

 per acre 



Average annual yield of 

 Spinach per acre 



Seven years , Last three crops 

 (1895-1901) 1 (1899-1901) 





£ 





d. 



tons cwt. 



tons 



cwt. 



50 loads (25 tons) London Dung . 



10 



0 



0 



5 0 



6 



8 



25 loads (12| tons) London Dung . 



5 



0 



0 



4 3 



4 



16 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates (no Potash), and 















2 cwt. Nitrate of Soda .... 



6 



15 



0 



5 17 



7 



16 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 



7 



5 



0 



6 3 



8 



0 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates (no Potash), and 















4 cwt. Nitrate of Soda .... 



7 



15 



0 



6 14 



8 



15 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 



8 



5 



0 



6 8 



8 



7 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates (no Potash), and 















6 cwt. Nitrate of Soda .... 



8 



15 



0 





8 



19 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 



9 



5 



0 





9 



10 



No Dung ; Phosphates (no Potash) and 8 cwt. 

















4 



15 



0 





6 



11 



Ditto, ditto (with Potash) .... 



5 



5 



0 





8 



1 



