34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



plant is concerned tliere is no preference whatever for one class 

 of matter over any other class of matter ; that is, so far as the 

 plant is concerned, the organic matter of which it is made is just 

 as important as the inorganic matter. No plant can be made with 

 the one, and no plant can be made without the other. Every 

 plant that ever was or that ever will be made, has been and will 

 be made by the use of both. 



Now we come to classes of matter. If we take the organic 

 material of which plants are made it is equally true that neither 

 of the organic elements, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen or carbon, is 

 supreme in importance so far as the plant is concerned. No plant 

 can be made without all four of them ; leave out which one you 

 will and it will sicken and die. You must have them all and in 

 the right proportions or no plant can be made, and so far as the 

 plant is concerned they are equally important. 



Turn now to the inorganic elements that enter into the compo- 

 sition of plants. We have some eight or ten of these, and neither 

 of them has the preference over the others. No plant can be 

 made without lime, no plant can be made without potash, no plant 

 can be made without phosphoric acid, and so on through the 

 whole list. Every plant that grows must have every one of these 

 elements, and the quantity of the crop produced on any acre of 

 land will depend >ipon th*^ quantity of these elements that is avail- 

 able in the soil. All are equally important. 



Turn now to the farmer. It makes a wonderful diflerence with 

 him who shall supply these elements — who shall furnish the 

 material of which the vital forces will construct plants. It makes 

 no diflerence to the plant, but as I have said it makes a wonder- 

 ful diiference with the farmer. For Nature is a helpmate and 

 co-worker with the farmer. He alone of all workmen is assisted 

 by the material with which he works, and while the plant must 

 have all the elements, the farmer can ask Nature, " What will you 

 provide, and what must I provide for the structure of my plants?" 



Now, coming to the organic matter. Nature will supply a!iy- 

 where, under all circumstances, whatever oxygen the plant 

 wants — the farmer never need supply any of that. The same 

 with hydrogen — there is enough of that in water and in air. We 

 need never manure our land with oxygen or hydrogen. 



Precisely so with carbon. Tliere is a large percentage of car- 

 bon in the soil, and in the water that comes down through the 

 air there is also an abundant supply of it, and Nature has fitted 



