THE PHILOSOPHY OF FARM IMPROVEMENTS. 189 



ated or retarded. In other words, the principles which govern a 

 correct farm practice may be regarded or disregarded, and success 

 or failure will in this, as in all other matters, follow their legitimate 

 cause. 



There are certain natural aids which come, to the assistance of 

 all farmers, whether intelligent and enterprising or not. Every soil 

 has a natural capacity for crop production peculiar to itself. It will 

 produce indefinitel}" a certain amount with the application of only 

 such fertilizers as nature supplies, even when the annual plant 

 growth is removed. This supply comes from the disintegration of 

 the soil by the agency of frosts, etc., and the consequent liberation 

 of a portion of its plant food. It is also supplied by deposits from 

 the atmosphere through the agency of rain and melting snow. But 

 these supplies, though materially aiding in the work of crop produc- 

 tion, are utterly inadequate to the production of large crops, and 

 can not be relied upon for maintaining the fertility of the soil. 

 There will be a gradual increase, even in connection with spontane- 

 ous production, if the plant growth is not removed. We have 

 examples of this in the Western prairies, where by the accumulations 

 of ages great fertility has been developed. But as the time allotted 

 to man en earth is limited, he can not afford to wait for this natura 

 process of fertilization. We must assist nature, and she will more 

 effectually assist us. Nature will indeed do the work, but we must 

 so arrange the conditions that she can work rapidly and well. 



Fifth — There is still another source to which the stock farmer 

 should look for that additional supply of plant food, by the aid of 

 which he may be enabled to raise any crop which he may desire for 

 home consumption, and that is, selection in feeding. The market 

 value of stock food is no criterion by which to judge of its manurial 

 value. We may often hasten the work of improvement by dis- 

 posing of certain crops, and purchasing in the market those more 

 valuable, both for stock and (or plant food. As a practical illus- 

 tration of this we will suppose that a dairyman has a bin of oats 

 which he exchanges for an equal value of cotton seed meal. The 

 former will command a much higher price in the market in propor- 

 tion both to their food and their manurial value. While the meal is 

 much more valuable for stock food, in proportion to cost, it is also 

 more than three times as valuable for manure. 



Let us apply figures to this matter that we may better understand 

 its importance. In doing so I shall refer to tables prepared by the 



