stances may have a similar effect.

In the application of manures to the soil there are several
circumstances which must be taken into consideration. It is generally
stated that they ought to be distributed as uniformly as possible, but
this is not always necessary nor even advisable, and certainly is not
acted on in practice. Much must depend upon the nature both of crop and
soil. When the former throws out long and widely penetrating roots, the
more uniformly the manure is distributed the better; but if the rootlets
are short, it is clearly more advisable that it should be deposited at
no great distance from the seed. Practically this is observed in the
case of the potato and turnip, which are short rooted, and where the
manure is generally deposited close to the seed. But this course is
never adopted with the long rooted cereals, the manure being usually
applied to the previous crop, so that the repeated ploughings to which
the soil is subjected in the interval may distribute what remains as
widely and uniformly as possible. In soils which are either excessively
tenacious or light, the accumulation of the manure close to the plants
has also the effect of producing an artificial soil in their immediate
neighbourhood, containing abundance of plant-food, and having physical
properties better fitted for the support of the plant. On the other
hand, when a special manure is used alone, and with the view of
promoting the assimilation of substances already existing in the soil,
the more uniform its distribution the better, because it is essential
that the roots which penetrate through it should find at every point
they reach not only the original soil constituents, but also the
substances used to supplement their deficiencies.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote K: The quantities here taken are the averages deduced from the
agricultural statistics taken in Scotland some years since, with the
exception of hay and straw, which are not included in them. I have
therefore assumed a reasonable quantity in these cases.]

CHAPTER VIII.

THE COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF FARM-YARD AND LIQUID MANURES.

In the preceding chapter, a general manure has been defined as one
containing all the constituents of the crop to which it is to be
applied, in a state fitted for assimilation. This condition is fulfilled
only by substances derived from the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and
most effectually by a mixture of both. On this account, and a