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The Application of the Manure of the Farm. 
Without entering' into the merits of this mode of culture, or 
attempting to define either the limits of fertility thus obtainable 
or the economical advantages or disadvantages attendant on such 
a system, we at once recognize the great value of this supply 
and the importance of employing all ordinary means for its 
development. In the use of farmyard-dung we may materially 
assist this decomposition of the soil : for, when the manure is 
added in a fresh and unfermented state, whilst its decay is taking 
place in the land it promotes the decomposition of the materials 
in the soil, and thus renders them available for vegetable growth. 
In this manner we not only add a certain quantity of manure to the 
land, but, by applying it so that its decay shall take place in the 
soil, we gain from the inert and inactive portion of the soil a 
further contribution of fertilizing matter. This influence would 
be considerably reduced — I might almost say lost — if the same 
manure were employed in a well-rotted condition, because it 
will have passed through its fermentation, in which stage it 
exerts this influence. This is, therefore, an additional reason 
for checking the decomposition of the manure until it has been 
applied to the fallow-land. If there is a sufficient supply of 
dung free for the fallow and the land is tolerably clean, there 
can be no objection to its application before the winter-ploughing; 
but neither of these conditions is usual, and hence land intended 
for fallowing seldom receives any dung before winter. The 
reasons ^iven above favour the application of the dung as early 
as the land is ready for it. 
When lime and dung are both to be used upon a fallow, care 
must be taken not to apply them at the same time, otherwise, 
from their combination on the surface, ammonia will be set free 
and lost in the atmosphere. But, with due precaution, the two 
may be employed in the same season, not only without loss but 
with great advantage. The dung may generally be applied in a 
fresh state before the second spring-ploughing, after which the 
lime may be spread on the surface and worked into the soil. 
The combination of these fertilizers under the surface of the 
land will from the after-tillage increase the benefit derived from 
the employment of each separately. As the sun has great power 
at the season of the year when farmyard-manure is commonly 
spread on the fallows, the labour of the field should be so ad- 
justed that the plough may follow the cart closely enough to 
bury the dung before it has lost its moisture. 
Fallow-Crops. — The action of manure on these crops is very 
similar to that on fallows, so that the further consideration of its 
application resolves itself into a notice of the special require- 
ments of each crop. 
Mangold- JVurzel is one of the most valuable roots cultivated 
