1 Dec., 1899. ] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL 567 
commercial fertilisers. As a rule, these waste products are burnt or~otherwise 
destroyed, and, in the case of orchards especially, their loss is a very serious 
one. All weeds, corn stalks, pumpkin vines, banana stalks, leaves, bush 
scrapings, and all so-called rubbish, which is usually burnt, should be gathered 
and placed into a heap together with the cleaninys out of any ditches, drains, or 
road sides. The heap should be carefully built, and have sufficient soil mixed 
with it to keep it firm and cause it to rot properly, and should be covered by 
sheets of bark or iron, or by 6 inches or more of soil, to keep off heavy rains 
when once well wetted through. When partially rotten it should be turned over, 
and, if desirable, lime can be added, but lime will free the nitrogen present, and 
if there is not sufficient soil to absorb it as soon as it is freed it will be lost. 
If desired, phosphatic or potash fertilisers can also be added to the heap when 
turning, and this will greatly increase its manurial value. Such a compost 
heap should be made on every orange orchard, especially those that have been 
in bearing for some years, as it will be found to be the best and cheapest way 
of keeping up the fertility of the soil. ‘The old orange-growers of Cumberland 
County, New South Wales, always considered a good top dressing of bush 
rakings and soil—which was practically a compost — the best possible application 
to the soil, and they often consider that the deterioration of many orchards is 
due to their inability of recent years to obtain the requisite amount of bush 
scraping needed for the top dressing of their trees. 
There are other manurial agents about the farm that are often neglected, 
such as the fowl manure and nightsoil, and both of these can cither be mixed 
with the manure or compost heaps with beneficial results. 
Farm manure, including compost heaps, can be applied to fruit trees either 
in the form of a mulch, or it may be spread over the ground and lightly ploughed 
or forked in. In the case of farm manure to be used as a mulch, the sooner it 
is used after itis made the better, as there is little if any loss once it is spread 
over the surface of the land. The disadvantage of fresh manure is that it 
is apt to produce an enormous crop of weeds, whereas, when properly made, 
the fermentation it has undergone has been sufficient to destroy all weed seeds 
contained in it. In the case of farm crops it is usually best applied by being 
spread broadcast over the land and then ploughed in, or if desired it may be 
placed in drills, and the plants, such as cabbages, potatoes, &c., planted on top of 
it; for this purpose, however, it is advisable that it be well rotted, as if too fresh 
it is apt to keep the soil too loose, especially if it is of a sandy nature, and thus 
sause the plants to dry out should a dry spell ensue. In heavy clay soils that 
are deficient in organic matter it is best to apply the manure fresh, as in this 
state it tends to keep the soil open, and thus render it more friable. No farmer 
or fruitgrower can afford to neglect farm manure, as is the common practice at 
present, as, no matter how rich the soil, continuous cro »ping is bound to deplete 
it of its available plant foods; and our heavy rains and high temperature rapidly 
exhaust the humus or organic matter in our best scrub soils, thus rendering 
them more difficult to work, less retentive of moisture, and deficient in nitrogen. 
T cannot emphasise too strongly the importance of conserving all farm manures, 
and I strongly recommend all fruitgrowers and farmers to make the most of all 
home resources of fertility before they spend their moncy on commercial 
fertilisers. Home manures should always form the basis of all manuring, and 
they should be supplemented, not superseded, by commercial fertilisers in order 
to maintain the soil in a high state of fertility. 
ComMercrAn FERTILISERS. 
Under the heading of “commercial fertilisers” I include all manurial matter 
not produced on the farm. Such manurial matter may be either a natural 
manure such as blood, offal, bones, kainit, nitrate of soda, guano, coprolites, 
rock phosphates, &c., or it may bea by-product obtained during the manufacture 
of other materials, such as Thomas's phosphate, sulphate of ammonia, nipho, and 
other products of boiling-down and meat. works. 
