138 BOARD OF AGKICULTURE. 



REPORT ON CONCENTRATED AND SPECIFIC 



MANURES. 



The committee to whom was referred the matter of "concentrated 

 and specific manures," by the last Board of Agriculture, would beg 

 leave to report, that thej have attended to that duty, according to 

 the best of their ability and the time and opportunity afforded them, 

 and submit the following as the result of their investinjations : 



It is believed by the committee, that such manures have been 

 used to but a very limited extent in this State. Guano, poudrette 

 and superphosphate of lime are believed to be almost the only kinds' 

 of this class of manures that have been used by our farmers. Con- 

 cerning these, there does not seem to have been any very carefully 

 conducted experiments with reference to securing definite and specific 

 information as to their economical value. With some men, all these 

 fertihzers have produced satisfactory results, while with others they 

 are reported to have proved a total failure. The causes of their 

 diverse and contradictory results, are unknown to the committee; but 

 they regard it as a matter worthy of the special consideration of the 

 Board, and of sufficient importance to demand a special commissioner 

 for its investigation, at the expense of the State, if the Secretary of 

 the Board does not feel that his time and the claims of other duties 

 will allow of his attending to that work in person. Why are results 

 so contradictory obtained? is a question that ought to be speedily 

 answered, if possible; for, as the matter now stand, no man can 

 judge beforehand whether it is prudent for him to procure such fer- 

 tilizers to supply the deficiency in his manures or not. We need to 

 know whether the trouble is in the articles themselves, the condition 

 of the soil, or the mode of application. 



Beside, we need to have those who use these fertilizers and are 

 satisfied that they attain good results, make experiments which will 

 afford definite information as to the jiroduce on the capital thus 

 invested. We need to know whether the results attained show that 

 a profit can be made on capital so invested. If it will not afford a 

 fair profit, economy most assuredly dictates, that their use should 

 at once be discontinued and some other modes of fertihzation be 

 sought out. We hope, therefore, that every man ^iho may hereafter 

 use these articles, will keep accurate accounts, so as to be able to 



