AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY. 561 



their food and fertilizers affect their growth ; and, as an ex- 

 hibition of what intelligent farmers can do to get the knowl- 

 edge they need to improve their farming, are very interest- 

 ing indeed. 



The following statements, condensed from a full account 

 in the "Report of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture for 

 1878," may be in place here : 



Experiments were proposed (l) for testing the deficiencies 

 of soils and the action of manures, and (2) for obtaining more 

 general information. The three ingredients of plant-food 

 most important in fertilizers, because most often deficient in 

 the soil nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash were used, 

 each by itself, two by two, and all three together. The ni- 

 trogen was supplied by nitrate of soda at the rate of 150 to 

 200 pounds per acre ; the phosphoric acid by superphosphate 

 from dissolved bone-black, 300 pounds per acre; the potash 

 by German "muriate," 150 to 200 pounds per acre. Parallel 

 trials were made with other fertilizers, including farm ma- 

 nures. 



Effects of the Diifereiit Fertilizing Materials. Artificial vs. 



Farm Fertilizers. 



The nitrate of soda alone and combined with the other 

 materials frequently brought profitable returns with pota- 

 toes, but seldom paid for itself in the increase of corn. With 

 potash salts the increase of corn was often, and that of po- 

 tatoes generally, enough to bring a profit. The superphos- 

 phate gave paying returns in the majority of cases on all the 

 crops. As would be expected, the "complete fertilizer," con- 

 taining all three ingredients, brought the largest crops, ex- 

 celling the farm manures, whose composition and amounts 

 were, however, variable and indefinite. Twenty-seven ex- 

 periments with corn, on soils, good, bad, and indifferent, 

 though mostly poor, and in all varieties of climate and sea- 

 son, gave an average of 48.6 bushels per acre of shelled corn 

 with the complete fertilizer, against 45.9 bushels with farm 

 manures. Nine experiments with potatoes gave an average 

 of 177 bushels with the chemicals and 133 with the manure. 

 The products with chemicals excelled those with farm ma- 

 nures not only in quantity, but in quality as well. 



A a 2 



