MANURES  See also:

• ARM (a common Teutonic word; the Indo-European root is ar, to join or fit; cf. the Lat. armus, shoulder, and the plural word arma, weapons, Gr. apphs, joint, and the reduplicated apapilKSV, to join)

Arm MANURING . The See also:

• TERM

term " manure " origin-ally meant that which was " worked by See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand " (Fr. manczuvre), but gradually came to apply to any See also:

• PROCESS

process by which the See also:

• SOIL

soil could be improved . Prominent among such processes was that of directly applying " manure " to the See also:

• LAND

land, manure in this sense being what we now See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call " farmyard manure " or "dung," the excreta of See also:

• FARM

farm animals mixed with See also:

• STRAW

straw or other See also:

• LITTER (through O. Fr. litere or litiere, mod. litiere from Med. Lat. lectaria, classical lectica, lectus, bed, couch)

litter . Gradually, however, the use of the term spread to other materials, some of See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home origin, some imported, some manufactured by artificial processes, but all useful as a means of improving the fertility of the soil . Hence we have two See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main classes of manures: (a) what may be termed " natural manures," and (b) "artificial manures." Manures, again, may be divided according to the materials from which they are made—e.g . " See also:

• BONE (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages, in many of which it is confined to the shank of the leg, as in the German Bein)
• BONE, HENRY (1755-1834)

bone manure," " See also:

• FISH (O. Eng. fist, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch visch, Ger. Fisch, Goth. fisks, cognate with the Lat. piscis)
• FISH, HAMILTON (1808-1893)

fish manure," " See also:

• WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool manure," &c.; or according to the constituents which they mainly See also:

• SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply—e.g . " phosphatic manures," " potash manures," " nitrogenous manures," or there may be numerous combinations of these to See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form mixed or " See also:

• COMPOUND
• COMPOUND (from Lat. componere, to combine or put together)

compound " manures . Whatever it be, the word " manure " is now generally applied to anything which is used for fertilizing the soil . In See also:

• AMERICA

America the term " fertilizers " is more generally adopted, and in See also:

• GREAT

Great See also:

• BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain the introduction of the " Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

Act "has effected a certain amount of See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in the same direction . The See also:

• MODERN

modern tendency to turn 'See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention less to the See also:

• CONSIDERATION (from Lat. considerare, to look at closely, examine, generally taken to be from con-, and the base seen in sidus, sideris, a star, the word being supposed to be originally an astrological or astronomical term)

consideration of manurial applications given to land and more to the See also:

• PHYSICAL

physical and See also:

• MECHANICAL

mechanical changes introduced thereby in the soil itself, would seem to be carrying the word " manure " back more to its See also:

• ORIGINAL

original meaning . The subject of manures and their application involves a See also:

• PRIOR (from Lat. prior—former, and hence superior, through O. Fr. priour)
• PRIOR, MATTHEW (1664-1721)

prior consideration of plant See also:

• LIFE

life and its requirements . The plant, growing in the soil, and surrounded by the See also:

• ATMOSPHERE (Gr. fir µ6r, vapour; orkaipa, a sphere)

atmosphere, derives from these two See also:

• SOURCES

sources its nourishment and means of growth through the various stages of its development .

Chemical See also:

• ANALYSIS (Gr. avci and Meta, to break up into parts)

analysis has shown that See also:

• PLANTS

plants are composed of See also:

• WATER

water, organic or combustible matters, and inorganic or See also:

• MINERAL

mineral matters . Water constitutes by far the greater See also:

• PART

part of a living plant; a grass See also:

• CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop will contain about 75% of water, a See also:

• TURNIP

turnip crop 89 or 9o%, The organic or combustible matters are those which are lost, along with the water, when the plant is burnt; the inorganic or mineral matters are those which are See also:

• LEFT

left behind as an " ash after the burning . The combustible See also:

• MATTER

matter is composed of six elements: See also:

• CARBON (symbol C, atomic weight 12)

carbon, See also:

• HYDROGEN [symbol H, atomic weight x-oo8 (0=16)]

hydrogen, See also:

• OXYGEN (symbol 0, atomic weight 16)

oxygen, See also:

• NITROGEN [symbol N., atomic weight 14.01, 0=16]

nitrogen, See also:

• SULPHUR

sulphur and a little See also:

• PHOSPHORUS (Gr. 4ws, light, sPEpety, to bear)

phosphorus . About one-See also:

• HALF

half of the combustible matter of plants is carbon . Along with hydrogen and oxygen the carbon forms the See also:

• CELLULOSE

cellulose, See also:

• STARCH

starch, See also:

• SUGAR

sugar, shown to be the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case with any other plants than the Lcguminosae, &c., which plants contain, and with these same elements and sulphur and, though it is asserted by some that many other plants can take up the carbon forms the albuminoids of plants . The inorganic or mineral the nitrogen of the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air directly through their leaves, there is no clear matters comprise a comparatively small part of the plant, but they See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence as yet of this . contain, as essential constituents of plant life, the following elements: We must now consider how the different requirements of the See also:

• POTASSIUM [symbol K (from kalium), atomic weight 39.114 0=16)]

potassium, See also:

• CALCIUM [symbol Ca, atomic weight 40.0 (o= x6)]

calcium, See also:

• MAGNESIUM [symbol Mg, atomic weight 24.32 (0 = 16)]

magnesium, See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron, phosphorus and sulphur . In addition, other, but not essential, elements are found in the ash plant in regard to the elements necessary to maintain its life e.g. See also:

• SODIUM [symbol Na, from Lat. natrium; atomic weight 23.00 (0=16)]

sodium, See also:

• SILICON [symbol Si, atomic weight 28.3 (0= 16)]

silicon and See also:

• CHLORINE (symbol Cl, atomic weight 35`46 (0=16)

chlorine, together with small quantities of and to build up its structure affect the question of manuring. See also:

• MANGANESE (symbol Mn; atomic weight, 54.93 (0=16)], a metallic chemical element. Its dioxide (pyrolusite)

manganese and other rarer elements . Under conditions of natural growth and decay, when no The above constituents that have been classed as " essential," crops are gathered in, or consumed on the land by live stock, are necessary for the growth of the plant, and See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of any one will involve failure . This has been shown by growing plants in water the herbage, on dying down and decaying, returns to the atmosdissolved in which are salts of the elements See also:

• PRESENT

present in plants . By phere and the soil the elements taken from them during life; omitting in turn one or other of the elements aforesaid it is found but, under cultivation, a See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of crops deprives the land that the plants will not grow after they have used up the materials of the constituents which are essential to healthy and luxuriant contained in the See also:

• SEED (from the root seen in Lat. serere, to sow)

seed itself . These elements are accordingly termed " essential," and it therefore becomes necessary to inquire how growth .

Without an adequate return to the land of the matters they are to be supplied . ~ removed in the produce, its fertility cannot be maintained for The atmosphere is the great storehouse of organic plant See also:

• FOOD
• FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)

food. many years . In newly opened countries, where old forests The leaves take up, through their stomata, the carbonic See also:

• ACID (from the Lat. root ac-, sharp; acere, to be sour)

acid and 1 have been cleared and the land brought under cultivation, the other gases of the atmosphere . The carbonic acid, under the in- fluence of See also:

• LIGHT

light, is decomposed in the See also:

• CHLOROPHYLL (from Gr. XAwpos, green, 4bXXov, a leaf)

chlorophyll cells, oxygen is ! virgin soil often possesses at first a high degree of fertility, but given off and carbon is assimilated, being subsequently built up into ' gradually its productive See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power decreases from See also:

• YEAR

year to year. the various organic bodies forming the plant's structure . It would Where land is plentiful and easy to be obtained it is more See also:

• CON

con- seem, too, that plants can take up a small quantity of See also:

• AMMONIA (NH3)

ammonia venient to clear fresh See also:

• FOREST

forest land than to improve more or less by their leaves, and also water to some extent, but the See also:

• FREE

free or un- combined nitrogen of the air cannot be directly assimilated by the exhausted land by the application of manure, labour and skill. leaves of plants . But in all densely peopled countries, and where the former mode From the soil, on the other hand, the plant obtains, by means of of cultivation cannot be followed, it is necessary to resort to its roots, its mineral requirements, also sulphur and phosphorus, artificial means to restore the natural fertility of the land and to and nearly all its nitrogen and water . Carbon, too, in the case of See also:

• FUNGI (p1. of Lat. fungus, a mushroom)

fungi, is obtained from the decayed See also:

• VEGETABLE

vegetable matter in the soil. maintain and increase its productiveness . That continuous The roots are able not only to take up soluble salts that are presented cropping without return of manure ends in deterioration of the to them, but they can attack and render soluble the solid constit- soil is well seen in the case of the See also:

• WHEAT
• WHEAT (Triticum)

wheat-growing areas in America . uents of the soil, thus transforming them into available plant food . Crops of wheat were taken one after another, the straw was In this way important substances, such as phosphoric acid and potash, are supplied to the plant, as also See also:

• LIME
• LIME (O. Eng. lim, Lat. limes, mud, from linere, to smear)

lime . Roots can further supply burned and nothing was returned to the land; the produce began themselves with nitrogen in the form of nitrates, the ammonia to fall off and the cultivators moved on to fresh lands, there to and other nitrogenous bodies undergoing ready See also:

• CONVERSION (Lat. conversio, from convertere, to turn or ,change)

conversion into meet, in See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time, with the same experience; and now that the avail-nitrates in the soil . These various mineral constituents, being now transferred to the plant, go to form new See also:

• TISSUE (Fr. tissu, tissue, participle of tisser, Lat. texere, to weave)

tissue, and ultimately able land has been more or less intensely occupied, or that new seed, or else accumulate in the See also:

• SAP

sap and are deposited on the older land is too far removed for ready transport of the produce, it has tissue.' been found necessary to introduce the See also:

• SYSTEM

system of manuring, and Whether the nitrogen of the air can be utilized by plants or not America now manufactures and uses for herself large quantities has been See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long and strenuously discussed, See also:

• BOUSSINGAULT, JEAN BAPTISTE JOSEPH DIEUDONNE (1802-1887)

Boussingault first, and then of artificial and manures .

See also:

• LAWES, HENRY (1595-1662)
• LAWES, SIR JOHN BENNET, BART

Lawes, See also:

• GILBERT
• GILBERT (KINGSMILL) ISLANDS
• GILBERT (or GYLBERDE), WILLIAM (1544-1603)
• GILBERT, ALFRED (1854– )
• GILBERT, ANN (1821-1904)
• GILBERT, GROVE KARL (1843– )
• GILBERT, J
• GILBERT, JOHN (1810-1889)
• GILBERT, MARIE DOLORES ELIZA ROSANNA [" LOLA MONTEZ "] (1818-1861)
• GILBERT, NICOLAS JOSEPH LAURENT (1751–1780)
• GILBERT, SIR HUMPHREY (c. 1539-1583)
• GILBERT, SIR JOSEPH HENRY (1817-1901)
• GILBERT, SIR WILLIAM SCHWENK (1836– )

Gilbert and Pugh, maintaining that there was no evidence pther of this utilization . But it was always recognized that certain plants, That the same exhaustion of soil would go on in Great Britain, See also:

• CLOVER

clover for example, enriched the land with nitrogen to an extent if unchecked by manuring, is known to every See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical See also:

• FARMER, RICHARD (1735–1787)

farmer, greater than could be accounted for by the See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere supply to them of and, if evidence were needed, it is supplied by the renowned nitrates in the soil . Ultimately Hellriegel supplied the explanation Rothamsted experiments of I,awes and Gilbert, on a heavy by showing that, at all events, certain of the See also:

• LEGUMINOSAE

Leguminosae, by the See also:

• MEDIUM

medium of swellings or " nodules " on their roots, were able to See also:

• FIX, THEODORE (180o-1846)

fix land, and also by the more See also:

• RECENT

recent See also:

• WOBURN

Woburn experiments of the the atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, and to convert it into nitrates Royal Agricultural Society of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England, conducted on a light for the use of the plant . This was found to be the result of the See also:

• ACTION

action sandy soil . The following table will illustrate this point, and of certain organisms within the nodules themselves, which in turn show also how under a system of manuring the fertility is main-fed upon the carbohydrates of the plant and were thus living in a See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state of " symbiosis " with it . So far, however, this has not been tained:- I . Rothamsted (heavy land) . See also:

• AVERAGE

Average yield of See also:

• CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. granum, seed, grain)
• CORN (fromm Lat. corms, horn)

corn per See also:

• ACRE
• ACRE, or AQUIRY

acre . Crop . See also:

• PLOT
• PLOT, ROBERT (164o-1696)

Plot . Treatment . 8 years, to years, 1852-1861.1862-1871. lo years, lo years, lo years, Average • 1844-1851 .

lo years, 1872-1881 . 1882-1891 . 1892-1901 . 852-190I . Wheat 3 Unmanured continuously . . . . See also:

• BUSH

Bush . Bush . Bush . Bush . Bush . Bush .

Bush . See also:

• BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

Barley 2 Farm-yard manure yearly . . 17.2 15'9 14'5 10.4 12.6 12.3 13.1 7-2 Unmanured continuously . 28•o 34'2 37'5 28.7 38.2 39.2 35.6 1-o Farm-yard manure yearly . - 22.4 17.5 13'7 12.7 Io•o 15'3 45'0 51'5 50.2 47.6 44'3 47.7 2 . Woburn (light land) . Average yield of corn per acre . Crop . Plot Treatment . Average of to years, to years, lo years, 30 years, 1877-1886 . 1887-1896 . 1897-1906 .

1877-1906 . Bush . Bush . Bush . Bush . Wheat 7 Unmanured ccntinuously : . . 17.4 14.5 10.8 14'2 116 Farm-yard manure yearly . . . . 26.7 27.8 24'0 26.2 Barley 7 Unmanured continuously . . . . 23.0 18.1 13'3 18' 1 I Ib Farm-yard manure yearly . 40'0 39'9 36.6 38.8 Whereas on the heavier and richer land of Rothamsted the produce of unmanured wheat has fallen in 58 years from 17.2 bushels to 12.3 bushels, on the lighter and poorer soil of Woburn it has fallen in 30 years from 17.4 bushels to 1o•8 bushels; barley has in 5o years at Rothamsted gone from 22.4 bushels to to bushels, whilst at Woburn (which is better suited for barley) it has fallen in 30 years from 23 bushels to 13.3 busltels .

At both Rothamsted and Woburn the application of farm-yard manure has kept the produce of wheat and barley practically up to what it was at the beginning, or even increased it . Similar conclusions can be See also:

• DRAWN

drawn from the use of artificial manures at each of the experimental stations named, exemplifying the fact that with suitable manuring crops of wheat or barley can be grown years after year without the land undergoing deterioration, whereas if left unmanured it gradually declines in fertility . Practical See also:

• PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof has further been given of this in the well-known " continuous corn-growing " system pursued, in his See also:

• REGULAR

regular farming, by Mr See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John See also:

• PROUT, SAMUEL (1783–1852)
• PROUT, WILLIAM (1785-1850)

Prout of Sawbridgeworth, Herts, and subsequently by his son, Mr W . A . Prout, since the year 1862 . By supplying, in the form of artificial manures, the necessary constituents for his crops, Mr Prout was enabled to grow year after year, with only an occasional See also:

• INTERVAL

interval for a clover crop and to allow of cleaning the land, excellent crops of wheat, barley and oats, and without, it may be added, the use of farm-yard manure at all . In considering the economical use of manures on the land regard must be had to the following points: (I) the requirements of the crops intended to be cultivated; (2) the physical See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the soil; ° (3) the chemical See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition of the soil; and (4) the composition of the manure . Briefly stated, the guiding principle of manuring economically and profitably is to meet the requirements of the crops intended to be cultivated, by incorporating with the soil, in the most efficacious states of See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination, the materials in which it is deficient, or which the various crops usually grown on the farm do not find in the land in a sufficiently available condition to ensure an abundant See also:

• HARVEST (A.S. hcerfest " autumn," O.H. Ger. herbist, possibly through an old Teutonic root representing Lat. car pere, " to pluck ")

harvest . Soils vary greatly in composition, and hence it will be readily understood that in one locality or on one particular See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field a certain manure may be used with great benefit, while in another field the same manure has little or no effect upon the produce . For plant life to thrive certain elements are necessary, viz. carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, among the organic or combustible matters, and among the inorganic or mineral matters, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and sulphur . We must now examine the extent to which these necessary elements occur in either of the two great See also:

• STORE (from O. Fr. estor or estoire, Late Lat. staurum or instaurum, stock, provisions, supply, from the late use of instaurare, to provide, properly to construct, renew, restore)

store-houses, the atmosphere and the soil, and how their removal in the form of crops may be made up for by the use of manures, so that the soil may be maintained in a state of fertility . Further, we must consider what functions these elements perform in regard to plant life, and, lastly, the forms in which they can best be applied for the use of crops .

Of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen there is no lack, the atmosphere providing carbonic acid in abundance, and See also:

• RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain giving the elements hydrogen and oxygen, so that these are supplied from natural sources . Iron, magnesium and sulphur also are seldom or never deficient in soils, and do not require to be supplemented by manuring . Accordingly, the elements for which there is the greatest demand by plants, and which the soil does not provide in sufficiency, are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and, possibly, calcium . Manuring, apart from the physical and mechanical advantages which it confers upon soils, practically resolves itself, therefore, into the supply of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and it is with the supply of these that we shall accordingly See also:

• DEAL

deal in particular . 1 . Nitrogen.—Though we are still far from knowing what are the exact functions which nitrogen fulfils in plant life, there is no doubt as to the important part which it plays in the vegetable growth of the plant and in the formation of See also:

• STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem and See also:

• LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf . Without a sufficiency of nitrogen the plant would be stunted in growth . Its growth, indeed, may be said to be measured by the supply of nitrogen, for while mineral constituents like phosphoric acid and potash are only taken up to the extent that the plant can use themi.e. according to its See also:

• RATE

rate of growth, this actual growth itself would seem to be determined by the extent of the nitrogen supply . This it is which causes the ready response given to a crop by the application of some quickly-acting nitrogenous material like nitrate.of soda, and which is marked by the dark-See also:

• GREEN, A
• GREEN, ALEXANDER HENRY (1832—1896)
• GREEN, DUFF (1791—1875)
• GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837—1883)
• GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737)
• GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882)
• GREEN, VALENTINE (1739–1813)
• GREEN, WILLIAM HENRY (.1825–1900)

green See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour produced and the pushing-on of the growth . Similarly, this use of nitrogen, by See also:

• PRO

pro-longing growth, defers maturity, while over-use of nitrogen tends to produce increase of leaf and lateness of ripening . Along with this growth of the vegetative portions, and seen, in the case of corn crops, mainly in the straw, there is a corresponding decrease, from the use of nitrogen in excess, in the quality of the See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain . In corn a smaller grain and lesser See also:

• WEIGHT

weight per See also:

• BUSHEL (from the O. Fr. boissiel, cf. med. Lat. bustellus, busellus, a little box)

bushel are the result of over-nitrogen manuring .

The composition of the grain is likewise affected, becoming more nitrogenous . With crops, however, where rapid green growth is required, nitrogen effects the purpose well, though here, too, over-manuring with nitrogen will tend to produce rankness and coarseness of growth . Experiments at Rothamsted and elsewhere, as well as everyday practice of the farm, See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

bear testimony to the See also:

• PARAMOUNT (Anglo-Fr. paramont, up above, par el mont, up or on top of the mountain)

paramount importance of nitrogen-supply, and to the crops it is capable of raising . This applies not only to corn crops of all kinds, but to See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root crops, grass, potatoes, &c . Leguminous crops alone seem to have no need of it . In view of this practical experience, See also:

• LIEBIG, JUSTUS VON, BARON (1803-1873)

Liebig's " mineral theory "—according to which he laid down that plants only needed to have mineral constituents, such as phosphoric acid, potash and lime, supplied to them—reads strangely nowadays . The use of mineral manures without nitrogen other than that already present in the soil or supplied in rain has been shown, alike at Rothamsted and Woburn, to produce crops of wheat and barley little better than those from unmanured land . The lack of nitrogen in See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary cultivated soils is much more marked than is that of mineral constituents, and consequently even with the application of nitrogen alone (as by the use of nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia), See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good crops have been grown for a large number of years . This has been shown both at Rothamsted and at Woburn . On the other hand, experiments at these stations have demonstrated that better and more lasting results are obtained by the judicious use of nitrogenous materials in See also:

• CONJUNCTION (from Lat. conjungere, to join together)

conjunction with See also:

• PHOSPHATES

phosphates and potash . The form in which nitrogen is taken up by plants is mainly, if not wholly, that of nitrates, which are readily-soluble salts . Ammonia and other nitrogenous bodies undergo in the soil, through the agency of nitrifying organisms present in it (Bacterium nilrifecans, &c.), rapid conversion into nitrates, and as such are easily assimilable by the plant .

Similarly, they are the constituents which are most readily removed in drainage, and hence the adequate supply of nitrogen for the plant's use is a See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant problem in See also:

• AGRICULTURE
• AGRICULTURE (from Lat. ages, field, and colere, to cultivate)
• AGRICULTURE, BOARD OF

agriculture . Experiments on the rate of removal of nitrates from the soil by drainage showed that every See also:

• INCH (O. Eng. ynce from Lat. uncia, a twelfthpart; cf. " ounce," and see As)

inch of rain passing through the drains caused a loss of 22 lb of nitrogen per acre (Voelcker and See also:

• FRANKLAND, SIR EDWARD (1825-1899)

Frankland) . At the same time, soils, as Way showed, have the power of absorbing, in different degrees, ammonia from its See also:

• SOLUTION (from Lat. solvere, to loosen, dissolve)

solution in water, and when salts of ammonia are passed through soils the ammonia alone is absorbed, the acids passing; generally in combination with lime, into the drainage . Other experiments at Rothamsted on drainage showed that, though large quantities of ammonia salts were applied to the land, the drainage water contained merely traces of ammonia, but, on the other hand, nitrates in quantity, thus proving that it is as nitrates, and not as ammonia, that plants mainly, if not entirely, take up their nitrogenous food . From these investigations it follows that much more nitrogen must be added to the land than would be needed to produce a given increase in the crop . Nitrogen, then, being so all-important, the question is, where is it to come from ? We have seen that the leaves take up only See also:

• MINUTE
• MINUTE (Lat. minutes, small; minuere, to make less)

minute quantities of ammonia, comparatively small amounts are supplied in the rain, See also:

• DEW

dew, See also:

• SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow, &c.,l and in the case of Leguminosae alone have we any evidence of plants being able to provide themselves with nitrogen from atmospheric sources . Some few organisms present in fertile soils, e.g . Azotobacter chroococcum, have also the power, under certain conditions, of fixing the free nitrogen of the atmosphere without the intervention of a " See also:

• HOST

host," but all these sources would be very inadequate to meet the demands of an intensive cultivation . An ordinary fertile arable soil will not show, on analysis, much more than -15% of nitrogen, and it is evident that the great source of supply of the needed nitrogen must be the See also:

• DIRECT

direct manuring of the soil with materials containing nitrogen . These materials will be considered in detail later . 2 .

Phosphorus.—This is the most important mineral See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element which has to be supplied to the soil by the agency of manuring . It occurs in ordinary fertile soils to the extent of only about •150 reckoned as phosphoric acid, and though its absence in sufficiency is not so marked or so soon shown under prolonged cultivation as is that of nitrogen, yet the fact that it is needed by all classes of crops, and that its application in manurial form is attended with great benefits, makes its supply one of great importance . From the time that Liebig, in 184o, suggested the treatment of bones with sulphuric acid in See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order to make them more readily available for the use of crops, and that 1 The amount of nitrogen thus deposited annually was found at Rothamsted to be 7.21 lb per acre . the See also:

• LATE

late See also:

• SIR

Sir John Lawes (in 1843) began the dissolving of mineral phosphates for the purpose of manufacturing superphosphate, the artificial manure " See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade took its rise, and ever since then the whole globe has been exploited for the purpose of obtaining the raw phosphatic materials which form the See also:

• BASE

base of the artificial manures of the past and of the present See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day . The functions which phosphoric acid fulfils in plant life would appear to be connected rather with the maturing of the plant than with the actual growth of the structure . Phosphates are found concentrated in those parts of the plant where See also:

• CELL (from Lat. cella, probably from an Indo-European kal —seen in Lat. celare, to hide; another suggestion connects the word with Lat. cera, wax, taking the original meaning to refer to the honeycomb)

cell growth and See also:

• REPRODUCTION

reproduction are most active . More especially is this the case with the seed in which phosphates are present in greatest quantity . While nitrogen delays maturity, phosphoric acid has just the opposite effect, and cereal crops not sufficiently supplied with it ripen much more tardily than do others . Moreover, the grain is formed more See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early when phosphatic manures have been given than when they are withheld . Phosphates increase the proportion of corn to straw, and, as regards the grain itself, they render it less nitrogenous, richer in phosphates, and altogether improve its quality . While these are the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal functions of phosphates, they also exercise an See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence on the See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young plant in its early stages . This is well seen in the almost universal practice of applying super-phosphate to the young turnip or swede crop in order to push it beyond the attack of " See also:

• FLY (formed on the root of the supposed original Tent. fleugan, to fly)

fly." Undoubtedly phosphates in readily available form stimulate the young seedling, enabling it to develop root growth, and, later on, causing the plant to " tiller out " well .

Phosphoric acid occurs in the soil See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound up with the oxides of iron and alumina, or, it may be, with lime, and the extent to which it may become useful to plants will depend largely upon the readiness with which it becomes available . For the purpose of ascertaining this different See also:

• ANALYTICAL

analytical methods have been suggested, the best known one being that of B . See also:

• DYER, JOHN (c. 1700-1758)
• DYER, SIR EDWARD (d. 1607)
• DYER, THOMAS HENRY (1804-1888)

Dyer, in which a 1% solution of citric acid is used as a solvent . As a result of experimenting with Rothamsted soils of known capability it has been put forward that if a soil shows, by this treatment, less than •o1 % of phosphoric acid it is in need of phosphatic manuring . Experiments carried on for many years at Rothamsted and Woburn have clearly established the beneficial effects of phosphatic manuring on corn crops, for though no material increase marks the application of mineral manures in the absence of nitrogen, yet the results when phosphates and nitrogen are used together are very much greater than when nitrogen alone has been applied; and this is-true as regards not only the better ripening and quality of the grain, but also as regards the actual crop increase . With root crops phosphates are almost indispensable; and, owing to the limited power which these crops have of utilizing the phosphoric acid in the soil, the supply of a readily avail-able phosphatic manure like superphosphate is of the highest importance . The assimilation of phosphoric acid goes on in a cereal crop after the time of flowering and to a later date than does that of nitrogen and potash, and it is ultimately stored in the seed . Soils possess a retentive power for phosphoric acid which enables the latter to be conserved and not removed to any extent by drainage . Thig See also:

• FUNCTION

function is exercised mainly by the presence of See also:

• OXIDE

oxide of iron . Alumina acts in a similar way . In the case of soils that contain See also:

• CLAY (from O. Eng. claeg, a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Klei)
• CLAY, CASSIUS MARCELLUS (1810-1903)
• CLAY, CHARLES (1801–1893)
• CLAY, FREDERIC (1838–1889)
• CLAY, HENRY (1777–1852)

clay only traces of phosphoric acid are found in the drainage water . 3 .

Potassium.—The element third in importance, which requires to be supplied by manuring, is potassium, or, as it is generally ex-pressed, potash . This in its functions resembles phosphoric acid somewhat, being concerned rather with the mature development of the plant than with its actual increase of growth . Like phosphoric acid, potash is found concentrated throughout the plant in the early stages of its growth, but, unlike it, is in the case of a cereal crop all taken up by the time of full See also:

• BLOOM (from A.S. bloma, a flower)

bloom, whereas with phosphoric acid the assimilation continues later . Potash would appear to have an intimate connexion with the quality of crops, and to be favourable to the See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of seed and See also:

• FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit rather than to stem and leaf development . Certain crops, such as vegetables, fruit, hops, as well as root crops generally, make See also:

• SPECIAL

special demands upon potash supply, and, as checking the tendency to over-development of leaf, &c., induced by nitrogenous manures when used alone, potash has great practical importance . Potash appears to be bound up in a special way with the process of assimilation, for it has been clearly shown that whenever potash is deficient the formation of the carbohydrates, such as sugar, starch and cellulose, does not go on properly . Hellriegel and Wilfarth showed by experiment the dependence of starch formation on an adequate supply of potash . Cereal grains remained small and undeveloped when potash was withheld, because the formation of starch did not go on . The same effect has been strikingly shown in the Rothamsted experiments with mangels, a plot receiving potash salts as manure giving a crop of roots nearly 21 times as heavy as that grown on a plot which has received no potash . In this case the increase is due almost entirely to the sugar and other carbohydrates elaborated in the leaves, and not to any increase of mineral constituents . The effect of potash on maturity is somewhat uncertain, inasmuch as in the case of grain crops it would appear to delay maturity and to hasten it in that of root crops . The influence of potash on particular crops is very marked .

On clovers and other leguminous crops it is highly benefcial, while on grass land it is of particular importance as inducing the spread of clovers and other leguminous herbage . This is well seen in the Rothamsted grass experiments, where with a mineral manure containing potash one-half of the herbage is leguminous in nature, whereas the same manure without potash gives only 15% of leguminous plants . Similarly, where nitrogen is used by itself and no potash given there are no leguminous plants at all to be found . Potash occurs in an ordinary fertile soil to the extent of about '20 %; a sandy soil will have less, a clay soil may have considerably more . Potash, however, is mostly bound up in the soil in the form of insoluble silicates, and these are often in a far from available form, but require cultivation, the use of lime and other means for getting them acted on by the air and moisture, and so liberating the potash . According to B . Dyer's method of ascertaining the availability of potash in soils, the amount of potash soluble in a I % citric acid solution should be about •005 %, otherwise the addition of potash manures will be a requisite . In the case of soils containing much lime a larger quantity would, no doubt, be needed . Potash, like phosphoric acid, is readily retained by soils, and so is not subject to any considerable losses by drainage . This retention is exercised by the ferric-oxide and alumina in soils, but still more so by the See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double silicates, and to some extent also by the humus of the soil . Potash will be liberated from its salts by the action of lime in the soil, the lime taking the See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of the potash . Lime is, therefore, of much importance in setting free fresh stores of potash .

Soda salts also, when in considerable excess, are able to liberate potash from its compounds, and to this is probably due, in many cases, the beneficial action attending the use of See also:

• COMMON

common See also:

• SALT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zout, Ger. Salz, Scand. salt; cognate with Gr. &Xs, Lat. sal)
• SALT, SIR TITUS, BART

salt . 4 . Calcium.—Though calcium, or lime, is found in sufficiency in most cultivated soils, there are, nevertheless, soils in which lime is clearly deficient and where that deficiency has shown itself in practice . Moreover, so comparatively easy is the removal of lime from the soil by drainage, and so important is the part which lime plays in liberating potash from its compounds, and in helping to retain bases in the soil so that they are not lost in drainage, that the significance of lime cannot be ignored . Further, the avail-ability of both potash and phosphoric acid in the soil has been found to be much increased by the presence of lime . Lime, as carbonate of calcium, is also necessary for the process of nitrification to go on in the soil . Some sandy soils, and even some See also:

• CLAYS, PAUL JEAN (1819-1900)

clays, contain so little lime as to call for the direct supply of lime as an addition to the soil . When this is the case nothing can adequately take the place of lime, and in this sense lime may be called a " manure." In the See also:

• MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority of cases, however, the practice of liming or chalking, which was a common one in former times, was resorted to mainly because of the ameliorating effects it produced on the land, both in a mechanical and in a physical direction . Thus, on clay soil it flocculates the particles, rendering the soil less tenacious of moisture, improving the drainage and making the soil warmer . Nor must the directly chemical results be overlooked, for in addition to those already mentioned, of liberating plant food (chiefly pot-ash and phosphoric acid), retaining bases, and aiding nitrification, lime acts in a special way as regards the sourness or " acidity " which is sometimes produced in land when lime is deficient . In soils that are acid through the See also:

• ACCUMULATION (from Lat. accumulare, to heap up)

accumulation of humic acid nitrification does not go on, and bacterial life is repressed . The addition of lime has the effect of " sweetening " the land, and of restoring its bacterial activity .

This acidity is also seen in the occurrence of the disease known as " See also:

• FINGER

finger and toe " in turnips, the fungus producing this being one that thrives in an acid soil . It is only found in soils poor in lime, and the only remedy for it is liming . The growth of weeds like spurry, See also:

• MARIGOLD

marigold, See also:

• SORREL

sorrel, &c., is also a sign of land being wanting in lime . The most striking instance of this " soil acidity " is that afforded by the Woburn experiments, where, on a soil originally poor in lime, the soil has, through the continuous use of ammonia salts, been impoverished of its lime to such an extent that it has become quite sterile and is distinctly acid in See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character . The application of lime, however, to such a soil has had the effect of quite restoring its fertility . The amount of lime which soils contain is a very variable one, See also:

• CHALK

chalk soils being very See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich in lime, whereas sandy and peaty soils are generally very poor in it . If the amount of lime in a soil falls below 1% of carbonate of lime on the dried soil, the soil will sooner or later require liming . 5 . Magnesium.—T his is not known to be deficient in soils, although an essential element in them, and it is seldom directly applied as a manurial ingredient . Some natural potash salts, such as kainit, contain See also:

• MAGNESIA

magnesia salts in considerable quantity; but their influence is not known to be of beneficial nature, though, like common salt, magnesia salts will, doubtless, render some of the potash in the soil available . At the same time magnesia salts are not without their influence on crops, and experiments have been undertaken at the Woburn experimental farm and elsewhere to determine the nature of this influence . Carbonate of magnesia has been tried in connexion with See also:

• POTATO
• POTATO (Solanum tuberosum)

potato-growing, and, it is said, with good results .

6 . Iron.—Iron is another essential ingredient of soil that is found in abundance and does not call for special application in manurial form . Iron is essential for the formation of chlorophyll in the leaves, and its presence is believed also to be beneficial for the development of colour in See also:

• FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers, and for producing flavour in fruits and in vines especially . Ferrous sulphate has, partly with this view, and partly for its fungus-resisting properties, been suggested as a desirable constituent of manures . The function performed by ferric oxide in the soil of retaining phosphoric acid, potash and ammonia has been already alluded to . 7 . Sulphur.—This, the last of the " essential " elements, is seldom specially employed in manurial form . There would appear to be no lack of it for the plant's supply, and it is little required except for the See also:

• BUILDING

building-up, with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, of the albuminoids . There are few artificial manures which do not contain considerable amounts of sulphur, notably superphosphate . Sulphate of lime (See also:

• GYPSUM

gypsum) is sometimes applied to the land direct as a way of giving lime; this is employed in the case of clover and hops principally . Having thus dealt with the essential ingredients which plants must have, and which may require to be supplied to them in the form of additional manures, we may briefly pass over the other constituents found in plants, which may, or may not, be given as manures . 8 .

Sodium.—This is a widely distributed element . The influence of common salt (chloride of sodium) in liberating, when used in large excess, potash from the silicates in which it is combined in the soil has been already referred to, and in this way common salt and also nitrate of soda (the two forms in which soda salts are used as manures) may have some benefit . The principal purpose for which common salt, however, is used, is that of retaining moisture in the land . It is specially useful in a dry See also:

• SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season, or for succulent crops such as See also:

• CABBAGE

cabbage, kale, &c., or again for plants of maritime origin (such as mangels), which thrive near the See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea See also:

• SHORE

shore . 9 . Silicon.—All soils contain See also:

• SILICA

silica in abundance . Though silica forms so large a part of the ash of plants and is especially abundant in the straw of cereals, there is no evidence that it is required in plant life . Popularly, it is believed to " stiffen " the stems of cereals and See also:

• GRASSES

grasses, but plants grown without it will do perfectly well . It would, however, appear that soluble silica does See also:

• PLAY

play some part in enabling phosphoric acid to be better assimilated by the plant . Silicates, however, have not justified their use as direct fertilizers . Io . Chlorine.—A certain amount of chlorine is brought down in the rain, and chlorides are also used in the form of common salt, with the effect, as aforesaid, of liberating potash from silicates, when given in excess, but there is no evidence as to any particular part which the chlorine itself plays .

ri . Manganese, &c.—Manganese occurs in minute quantities in most plants, and it, along with See also:

• LITHIUM [symbol Li, atomic weight 7•oo (0=16)]

lithium (found largely in the See also:

• TOBACCO

tobacco-plant), See also:

• CAESIUM (symbol Cs, atomic weight 132.9)

caesium, See also:

• TITANIUM [symbol Ti, atomic weight 48.1 (0 = 16)]

titanium, See also:

• URANIUM [symbol U, atomic weight 238.5 (0=16)]

uranium and other rare elements, may be found in soils . Experiments at the Woburn pot-culture station and elsewhere, point to stimulating effects on vegetation produced by the action of minute doses of salts of these elements, but, so far, their use as manurial ingredients need not be considered in practice . 12 . Humus.—Though not an element, or itself essential, this See also:

• BODY

body, which may be described as decayed vegetable matter, is not without importance in plant life . Of it, farmyard manure is to a large extent composed, and many " organic manures," as they are termed, contain it in quantity . Dead leaves, decayed vegetation, the stubble of cereal crops and many See also:

• WASTE (O. Fr. wast, guast, gast, gaste; Lat. vastus, vast, desolate)

waste materials add humus to the land, and this humus, by exposure to the air, is always undergoing further changes in the soil, opening it out, distributing carbonic acid through it, and supplying it, in its further decomposition, with nitrogen . The principal effects of humus on the soil are of a physical character, and it exercises particular benefit through its power of retaining moisture . Humus, however, has a distinct chemical action, in that it forms combinations with iron, calcium and ammonia . It thus becomes one of the principal sources of supply of the nitrogenous food of plants, and a soil rich in humus is one rich in nitrogen . The nitrogen in humus is not directly available as a food-for plants, but many kinds of fungi and bacteria are capable of converting it into ammonia, from which, by the agency of nitrifying organisms, it is turned into nitrates and made available for the use of plants . Humus is able to retain phosphoric acid, potash, ammonia and other bases .

So important were the functions of humus considered at one time that on this Thaer built his " humus theory," which was, in effect, that, if humus was supplied to the soil, plants required nothing more . This was based, however, on the erroneous belief that the carbon, of which the bulk of the plant consists, was derived from the humus of the soil, and not, as we now know it to be, from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere . This theory was in turn replaced by the " mineral theory " of Liebig, and then both of them by the " nitrogen theory " of Lawes and Gilbert . We pass next to See also:

• REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

review, in the light of the foregoing, the manures in common use at the present day . Manures, as already stated, may be variously classified according to the materials they are made from, the constituentswhich they chiefly supply, or the uses to which they are put, But, except with certain few manures, such as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia and potash salts, which are used purely for one particular purpose, it is impossible to make any definite See also:

• CLASSIFICATION (Lat. classis, a class, probably from the root cal-, cla-, as in Gr. icaMce, clamor)

classification of manures, owing to the fact that the majority of them serve more than one purpose, and contain more than one fertilizing constituent of value It is only on broad lines, there-fore, that any See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division can be framed . Between so-called " natural " manures like farm-yard manure, seaweed, wool waste, See also:

• SHODDY

shoddy, bones, &c., which undergo no particular artificial preparation, and maufactured manures like superphosphate, dissolved bones, and other artificially prepared materials, there may, however, be a distinction drawn, as also between these and such materials as are imported and used without further preparation, e.g. nitrate of soda, kainit, &c . On the whole, the best classification to See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt is that according to the fertilizing constituents which each principally supplies, and this will be adopted here, with the necessary qualifications . I.—NITROGENOUS (WHOLLY OR MAINLY) MANURES These divided themselves into : (a) Natural nitrogenous manures; (b) imported or manufactured manures . a . NATURAL NITROGENOUS MANURES Under this heading come—farm-yard manure; seaweed; refuse cakes and meals; wool dust and shoddy; hoofs and horns; See also:

• BLOOD

blood; See also:

• SOOT (0. Eng. sot, cf. Icel. sot, Dan. sod; possibly from root sed, to sit)

soot; sewage sludge . Farm-yard Manure.—This is the most important, as well as the most generally used, of all natural manures . It consists of the solid and liquid excreta of animals that are fed at the See also:

• HOMESTEAD

homestead, together with the material used as litter .

The composition of farm-yard manure will vary greatly according to the conditions under which it is produced . The principal determining factors are (I) the nature and See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age of the animals producing it, (2) the food that is given them, (3) the See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind and quantity of litter used, (4) whether it be made in feeding-boxes, covered yards or open yards, (5) the length of time and the way in which it has been stored . The following analysis represents the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general composition of well-made farm-yard manure, in which the litter used is straw: Water . . 75.42 *Organic matter . 16.52 Oxide of iron and alumina •36 Lime 2.28 Magnesia '14 Potash 48 Soda •o8 tPhosphoric acid '44 Sulphuric acid •I2 Chlorine •02 Carbonic acid, &c . 1.38 Silica 2.76 See also:

• IOO

Ioo•oo *Containing nitrogen = • 59 %, which is equal to ammonia -72% tEqual to phosphate of lime 96 Put broadly, farm-yard manure will contain from 65 to 8o% of water, from •45 to -65% of nitrogen, from •4 to •8 % of potash, and from •2 to '5% of phosphoric acid . This analysis shows that farm-yard manure contains all the constituents, without exception, which are required by cultivated crops in order to bring them to perfection, and hence it may be called a " perfect " manure . Dung, It may be observed, contains a great variety of organic and inorganic compounds of various degrees of solubility, and this complexity of composition—difficult, if not impossible, to imitate by See also:

• ART

art—is one of the circumstances which render farm-yard manure a perfect as well as a universal manure . The excrements of different kinds of animals vary in composition, and those of the same See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal will vary according to the nature and quantity of the food given, the age of the animal, and the way it is generally treated . Thus, a young animal which is growing, needs food to produce bone and muscle, and voids poorer dung than one which is fully grown and only has to keep up its condition . Similarly, a milking-cow will produce poorer dung than a fattening See also:

• BULLOCK, WILLIAM (c. 1657-c. 1740)

bullock . Again, cake-feeding will produce a richer manure than feeding without cake .

Straw is the most general litter used, but See also:

• PEAT (possibly connected with Med. Lat. petia, pecia, piece, ultimately of Celtic origin; cf. O. Celt. pet, O. Ir. pit, Welsh peth, portion)

peat-See also:

• MOSS

moss litter, sawdust, &c., may be used, and they will affect the quality of the manure to some extent . Peat-moss is the best absorbent and has a higher manurial value than straw . See also:

• BOX
• BOX (Gr. irl or, Lat. buxus, box-wood; cf. 2r6Eir, a pyx)

Box-fed manure, and that made in covered yards will suffer much less loss than that made in an open yard . Lastly, manure kept in a heap covered with See also:

• EARTH
• EARTH (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Erde, Dutch aarde, Swed. and Dan. jord; outside Teutonic it appears only in the Gr. 'pq'e, on the ground; it has been connected by some etymologists with the Aryan root ar-, to plough, which is seen in
• EARTH, FIGURE OF
• EARTH, FIGURE OF THE

earth will be much richer than that left in an uncovered heap . The solid and liquid excrements differ much in composition, can be produced on the farm or bought at a moderate See also:

• PRICE
• PRICE, BARTHOLOMEW (1818–1898)
• PRICE, BONAMY (1807-1888)
• PRICE, RICHARD (1723-1791)

price in the immediate neighbourhood, it is See also:

• ECONOMY

economy to use it either alone or in conjunction with artificial manures; but when food is dear and fattening does not pay, or farm-yard manure is expensive to buy, it will be found more economical to use artificial manures . This has obtained See also:

• CONFIRMATION (Lat. confirmatio, from confirmare, to establish, make firm)

confirmation from the experience of Mr Prout, at Sawbridgeworth, Herts, where since 1866, successive crops of corn have been grown, and entirely with the use of artificial manures . The real difficulty with farm-yard manure is to get enough of it, and, if it were available in sufficiency, it would be safe to say that farmers generally would not require to go farther in regard to the manuring of any of the crops of the farm . Moreover, experiments at Rothamsted and Woburn have shown of how " lasting ' a character farm-yard manure is, its influence having told for some 15 to 20 years after its application had ceased . Light land is benefited by farm-yard manure through its supplying to the soil organic matter, and imparting to it " substance " whereby it becomes more consolidated and is better able to retain the manurial ingredients given to it . By improving the soil's moisture-holding capacity, moreover, " burning " of the land is prevented . With heavy clay soils the advantages are that these are kept more open in texture, drainage is improved, and the soil rendered easier of working . On light land, well-rotted manure is best to apply; and in See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring, whereas on heavy land freshly-made, " long, manure is best, and should be put on in autumn or See also:

• WINTER, JOHN STRANGE
• WINTER, PETER (c. 1755-1825)

winter .

Farm-yard manure, where the supply is limited, is mostly saved for the root-crop, which, however, generally needs a little super-phosphate to start it, as farm-yard manure is not sufficiently rich in this constituent . It serves a great purpose in retaining the needed moisture in the soil for the root crop . For potato-growing, for vegetables, and in See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market-gardening, farm-yard manure is almost indispensable . On grass-land and on clover-ley it is also very useful, and in the neighbourhood of large towns is employed greatly for the production of See also:

• HAY
• HAY (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Heu, Dutch hooi; the root from which it is derived, meaning " to cut," is also seen in " to hew "; cf. " hoe ")
• HAY, GEORGE (1729—1811)
• HAY, GILBERT
• HAY, JOHN (1838–1905)

hay . For corn crops also, and especially for wheat on heavy land, farm-yard manure is much used, and, in a dry season in particular, shows excellent results, though experiments at Rothamsted and Woburn have shown that, on heavy and light land alike, heavier crops of wheat and barley can be produced in average seasons by artificial manures . Seaweed.—Along the sea-See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast seaweed is collected, put in heaps and allowed to rot, being subsequently used on the land, just as farm-yard manure is . According to the nature of the See also:

• WEED, THURLOW (1797—1882)

weed and its water-contents, it may have from .3 to 1% of nitrogen, or more, with potash in some quantity . Green-manuring.—Though properly belonging to cultivation rather than to manuring, and acting chiefly as a means of improving the condition of the soil, the practice of green-manuring carries with it manurial benefits also, in that it supplies humus and nitrogen to the soil, and provides a substitute for farm-yard manure . The ploughing-in of a leguminous green-crop which has collected nitrogen from the atmosphere should result in a greater accumulation of nitrogen for a succeeding corn-crop, and thus supply the cheapest form of manuring . Green-manuring is most beneficial on light land, poor in vegetable matter . Manure Cakes, See also:

• MALT (O. Eng., mealt; O. Sax., malt; O. Tent., maltos; Mod. Ger., Malz; Scand., malt; probably derived from the Sanskrit mrdu, soft, thus having reference to the fact that malt is raw grain rendered soft or tender)

Malt Dust, Spent Hops, &c.—Many waste materials of this kind are used because of their supplying, in the form of nitrogenous organic matter, nitrogen for crop uses . The nitrogen in these is of somewhat slow-acting, but lasting, nature .

In addition to nitrogen, some of these materials, e.g. See also:

• RAPE
• RAPE (from Lat. rapere, to seize)
• RAPE (Lat. rapum or rapa, turnip)

rape cake, See also:

• COTTON
• COTTON (Fr. coton; from Arab. qutun)
• COTTON, CHARLES (163o–1687)
• COTTON, GEORGE EDWARD LYNCH (1813–1866)
• COTTON, JOHN (1585–1652)
• COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE

cotton cake and See also:

• CASTOR

castor cake, contain appreciable amounts of phosphoric acid and potash . Rape cake, or " land cake," as it is called in See also:

• NORFOLK
• NORFOLK, EARLS AND DUKES OF

Norfolk, is used considerably for wheat . It is also believed to be a preventive of See also:

• WIREWORM

wireworm, and so is often employed for potatoes and root-crops . Rape-seed from which the oil has been extracted by chemical means, and which is called " rape refuse," is made use of in See also:

• HOP (Ger. Hopfen, Fr. houblon)

hop-gardens as a slowly acting supplier of nitrogen . It will contain 4 to 5 % of nitrogen with 3 to 4 % of phosphates . Damaged cotton and other feeding-cakes, no longer See also:

• FIT

fit for feeding, are ground into See also:

• MEAL

meal and put on the land . Castor cake is directly imported for manurial purposes, and will have up to 5% of nitrogen with 4 to . 5% of phosphates . Spent hops, malt dust and other waste materials are similarly used . The principal use of these materials is on light land, and to give bulk to the soil while supplying nitrogen in suitable form . Wool-dust, Shoddy, &c.—The clippings from wool, the refuse from See also:

• CLOTH

cloth factories, See also:

• SILK

silk, See also:

• FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur and See also:

• HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair waste, See also:

• CARPET

carpet clippings and similar waste materials are comprised in this See also:

• CATEGORY (Gr. Karrlyopia, " accusation ")

category . They are valuable purely for their nitrogen, and should be See also:

• PURCHASED

purchased according to their nitrogen-contents .

They are favourite materials with hop-growers and fruit-farmers, whose experience leads them to prefer a manure which supplies its nitrogen in organic form, and which acts continuously, if not too readily . It is the See also: