26).

EXPERIMENTS ON THE MANURING OF BEANS.

Experiments with beans carried out at the Highland and Agricultural
Society's Experiment Station at Pumpherston, showing the effect of
potash:--

No. of Bushels dressed
plots. Kind of manure. grain, per acre.

27. No manure 2-1/2
12. Phosphate (bone-ash) 5-1/6
18. Nitrate 6-1/4
21. Phosphate and nitrate 5-1/3
22. _Potash_ 26-1/2
17. _Potash_ and phosphate 42-1/3
10. _Potash_, phosphate, and nitrate 45-1/2
38. _Potash_, phosphate, nitrate, and gypsum 51

CHAPTER XXIV.

ON THE METHOD OF APPLICATION AND ON THE MIXING OF MANURES.

Having considered the manuring of the different crops, we may now pass
on to the consideration of some points in the method of application and
on the mixing of manures.

_Equal Distribution of Manures._

A most important object in applying manures is to effect equal
distribution of the manure in the soil. This is often, however,
unusually difficult to do, especially in the case of artificial manures,
where the quantity to be spread over a large area of the soil is
extremely small. The difficulty in the case of farmyard or other very
bulky manure is not so great. In order to overcome this difficulty in
the case of artificial manures, it is often advisable to mix them with
some such substance as sand, ashes, loam, peat, or salt. The manure is
thus diluted in strength, and a very much larger bulk of substance is
obtained to work with. Circumstances must decide which of these
substances to use. If the soil be a heavy clay, the addition of sand or
ashes may have an important mechanical effect in improving its texture;
while, on the other hand, if it be a light soil, the addition of peat
may improve its mechanical condition. It must also be remembered that
peat itself contains a large amount of nitrogen, and thus forms a manure
of some value. In using loam or peat to mix with artificial manures,
they should be first dried and then riddled; while if ashes be used,
they should be previously reduced to a fine state. Wood-ashes, however,
must be used with caution, and ought not to be mixed with ammoniacal
manures, as they