THE MANURING- OF MARKET-GARDEN CROPS. 



1043 



seasons, which seemed to indicate that Leeks are less influenced by nitro- 

 genous manure than most vegetables. As will be seen from the following 

 results, our subsequent experience is in the same direction. 



LEEKS. 



Average results of four seasons, 1897-1898, 1898-1899, 1899-1900, 1900-1901. 



Annual manuring per acre 



Average weight 

 per plant 





oz. 

 8-6 



25 loads (12£ tons) London Dung 



8-2 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates, and Potash Salts (no Nitrate of Soda) 



9-6 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates, Potash Salts, and 1 cwt. Nitrate of Soda . 



9-5 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates, Potash Salts, and 2 cwt. Nitrate of Soda . 



9-4 



25 loads Dung, Phosphates, Potash Salts, and 4 cwt. Nitrate of Soda . 



9-1 



It will be seen that the chemical fertilisers have considerably im- 

 proved on the yield of dung alone, the size of the plants being on the 

 average 10 per cent, greater ; but the inclusion of nitrate of soda has on 

 the average given no better results than the use of phosphates and potash 

 salts without it, when a light dressing of dung has been used. 



Aspahagus. 



Asparagus is usually supposed to grow k best upon light sandy soil, 

 and many experienced growers of this valuable crop would probably, after 

 an inspection of our experimental field, pronounce its growth on our 

 close sticky clay soil to be an impossibility. Nevertheless we are now 

 growing splendid crops of Asparagus on it at the rate, on our best plots, 

 of from 2,500 to 3,000 bundles per acre. 



We constructed our beds in the year 1895 by cutting deep trenches 

 the width of ordinary beds, wide enough to contain three plants abreast. 

 A portion of the lowermost clay subsoil was removed and replaced with 

 brick rubble and old hopbine for drainage purposes. The upper subsoil 

 was then replaced, being liberally mixed, in all the beds, with dung, the 

 surface soil being then replaced above this. Each of our six plots (each 

 being one-hundredth of an acre in area) contains three beds, and 40 loads 

 of stable dung were used for the eighteen beds, which is at the rate of, 

 roughly speaking, 300 tons per acre. This dung, it is to be remembered, 

 was buried in the subsoil. 



The variety of Asparagus used was Sutton's ' Palmetto.' The plants, 

 three years old, were planted in April 1895. Unhappily, during the first 

 year, we lost a considerable proportion of our plants owing to summer 

 drought, and these had to be replaced in 1896. 



We commenced regular cropping in 1897, and the crop of 1902 was 

 therefore our sixth. 



Our manuring has been on the same general principles as on the 

 other plots. One plot receives annually a heavy dressing of dung, one a 

 light dressing, and three others receive a light dressing of dung with the 

 addition of chemical fertilisers, while one plot receives chemical fertilisers 

 without any dung. 



Since Asparagus has the reputation of being a salt-loving plant, we 



r 2 



