50 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
but it is without doubt an advantage in the thinner soils, 
because it secures greater concentration of plant food in 
the immediate region of the roots and results in a more 
economical use of the manure applied. 
The spreading of stable manures on truck farms and 
on market gardens is generally done with an ordinary 
four-tine manure fork. This is the most economical 
method when the manure is spread from the wagon as 
hauled from livery stables. Manure spreaders, however, 
should be in more general use among commercial vege- 
table growers, because they save labor and secure a much 
more even distribution than is possible by hand spread- 
ing. 
89. Rate of application. — The rate of application varies 
with the character and the supply of available manure, 
the character of the soil and the kinds of crops to be 
grown. In field trucking with such crops as sweet corn 
and cabbage the applications often do not exceed 10 tons 
an acre, while in market gardening the amount varies 
from 25 to 100 tons an acre. More than 50 tons to the 
acre is regarded by some as wasteful, or at least not eco- 
nomical. Twenty-five tons is a medium application in 
market gardening, while many claim that maximum 
profits cannot be obtained with less than 50 tons an acre 
applied annually. In the most intensive .garden opera- 
tions manure is often spread to the depth of 3 inches. 
When supplementing with commercial fertilizers it is 
possible to succeed with less manure, although the land 
may suffer in its physical composition. By using com- 
mercial fertilizers and a good system of irrigation the 
grower can unquestionably economize in the amount of 
manure. 
90. Night soil is a term applied to the human ex- 
crements, used extensively in the gardens near Philadel- 
phia and for truck crops near Baltimore. At Baltimore 
it is taken from vaults and transported on barges to 
