THE MANURING OF MARKET-GARDEN CROPS. 



1047 



It seems not improbable that the plants have by this time made such 

 growth that their roots are feeding in the still abundant dung which was 

 originally buried in the subsoil during the trenching and preparation of 

 the beds as already described ; and that, in consequence, they have ceased 

 to respond as they did during the earlier seasons to the effect of readily 

 available manures applied at the surface. The retentive nature of our 

 subsoil and the low average rainfall during our experimental years, must, 

 of course, have tended to conserve such subsoil fertility to a far greater 

 extent than would be the case on less retentive soils, such as those on 

 which Asparagus is more commonly grown. 



We are nevertheless continuing for the present the annual applications 

 of the manures which told so well in the earlier years, and the chronicle 

 of our results will be continued in a future report. 



So far we have only referred to the quantity and weight of the produce 

 grown, and have now to speak of the third factor in the value of Asparagus, 

 namely, its quality. 



After several seasons' experience and after many comparative observa- 

 tions, we have not the slightest hesitation in saying that the tenderness, 

 flavour, and general quality of the Asparagus grown with the aid of 

 chemical fertilisers have been markedly superior to those of the Asparagus 

 grown with the aid of London dung alone. This agrees with our experi- 

 ence recorded in connection with many other vegetable crops. 



At no time during our experiments has the heavy dressing of town 

 dung, costing £10 per acre, given any better results than the light 

 dressing, costing £5 per acre. 



Having regard to our general experience, we should be inclined to 

 recommend for Asparagus a light dressing of dung, not exceeding 

 25 loads (or, say, 12^ tons) per acre, supplemented by a dressing 

 of from 4 to 6 cwt. of superphosphate, 4 cwt. of kainit (or 1 cwt. of 

 sulphate of potash), and 4 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre. The super- 

 phosphate and kainit (or sulphate of potash) should be applied in the 

 winter, and the nitrate in the spring. 



It should be noted that the direct effect of the manure is probably not 

 to feed the shoots that are cut for market, but to encourage a vigorous 

 season's growth in the vegetative shoots that are allowed to come to 

 maturity after the cutting season is over. It is presumably owing to the 

 metabolic processes carried on during this period that the plant stores up 

 in its roots the nutriment necessary for producing, at the beginning of 

 the following season, a rapid and vigorous growth of the shoots which 

 constitute the crop. 



In soils poor in lime it is not advisable to use superphosphate too 

 often. It is better to use some non-acid phosphatic manure such as basic 

 slag or Peruvian guano or bone meal, or the neutralised or so-called 

 "basic" superphosphate introduced by Mr. Hughes. The trouble with 

 regard to manures of low solubility, for a crop like Asparagus, is that the 

 manure must always be applied at the surface, and cannot be dug in 

 to any great depth as it can in the case of crops the roots of which are 

 no longer required to remain undisturbed. For this reason, if we 

 were constructing a fresh bed of Asparagus in a soil poor in lime, we 

 should be inclined, during the construction and trenching of the bed, 



