go BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



must use manure of some kind, and as man}- can bu\' it, either as 

 made from the excrement of animals, or in the form of concentrated 

 fertilizers, an answer to this inquiry is deemed pertinent to the ques- 

 tion of the profits resulting from the use of the latter. 



1. Farm manures contain all, while commercial fertilizers may 

 contain only a portion of the ingredients which plants use for food. 

 Stable manure can thus be seen to be one that is pretty sure to meet 

 the demands of plants, which is in one sense, an advantage. But 

 if a farmer were to find it profitable for him to appl}- large quan- 

 tities of phosphates to his fields, as is often the case, he would 

 probably' get that material more cheaph' by purchasing a superphos- 

 phate or bone meal, than bj- getting horse manure from cit}- stables. 

 This would be true, especially if the phosphate and horse manure 

 were valued according to their composition, for in the case of the 

 latter the farmer would have to purchase a larger percentage of 

 nitrogen and potash than he desired. It is undoubtedlj' a fact, that 

 if any special ingredient is lacking in a soil, that want can be most 

 cheaph' met by purchasing some commercial fertilizer that contains 

 chiefl}- tlie substance needed, provided, the manure must in either 

 case be bought. 



2. The excrements of animals contain a large percentage of 

 organic material that commercial fertilizers do not. This is undoubt- 

 edlj- a point in favor of stable manure, not that the carbonaceous 

 compounds of the latter are needed to supply an}' deficiencies of 

 plant food. They can furnish only water and carbonic acid, both of 

 which the ^oil and air can supply in abundance. The chief benefits 

 arising from applying organic material to an}- soil, results from a 

 change in its physical conditions, and the effecting of a more abun- 

 dant use of its natural fertilit}-. The addition of decaying vegetable 

 material to the soil, often brings about a faA^orable change in texture 

 and color, while the liberation of so much carbonic acid as comes 

 from the decomposing manure, accelerates the disintegration of the 

 soil itself. We have seen how the valuable plant food which is 

 latent in a soil may be made useful through disintegration. These 

 two distinct effects are not to be disregarded, when we compare the 

 manures made on the farm and those found in the markets, and they 

 constitute a strong argument in favor of the 'former. 



3. It costs more to handle the same amount of plant food in 

 stable manure than in commercial fertilizers. This is obvious, when 

 we consider the bulky nature of the former. 



