FERTILITY OF SOIL. 125 



labor to do it. As much attention must be given to the pro- 

 duction of manures as to the production of crops. In this 

 way exhausted farms have been made productive, and it cer- 

 tainly follows, fertile lands can be kept fertile by the same 

 means. And then, after the dressing has been obtained, care 

 and judgment must be used in adapting it to the needs of the 

 soil. Such elements must be used as are lacking. It is use- 

 less, for instance, to use lime when the soil contains an 

 abundance of it. It is only by experiment and attention that 

 the farmer can learn to use his fertilizers to the best advan- 

 tage. I will only add, that it is necessary for farmers to 

 adapt all these methods and agencies which intelligence, 

 study and experience suggest, in order to realize profit from 

 their labors without exhausting their farms. An old painter 

 who had produced a master-piece, was asked by a young man 

 learning the art, what he mixed his paints with, and he 

 answered, "with brains, sir." If you would cultivate the fair 

 fields around you, so that they will yield ample harvests, and 

 at the same time retain their fertility, you must do it with 

 brains as well as muscle. 



Mr. Harris. The question under discussion is an impor- 

 tant one to farmers. All the waste of the farm should be 

 returned to the soil. You have here very rich, strong soil, 

 but the idea that the richest soil cannot be exhausted, is of 

 course preposterous. The average farmer is not aware of the 

 vast waste accruing from the failure to return to his soil fer- 

 tilizers equal to what he takes off in crops. As the doctor 

 expressed it, it is easier to retain the fertility of the soil than 

 to restore it after it is once exhausted. 



Dr. Parker. I do not think you can get up much enthu- 

 siasm among the farmers on this question, for the reason that 

 ©ur soil produces so abundantly that some think it will always 

 last ; but no man can travel through this country without 

 seeing the effects of continuous cropping. If we examine the 

 farms of the western counties we see the effect of long 

 cropping, and this fact ought to warn us that in time our 

 farms will reach the same state if we do not keep up the 



