SECRETARY'S REPORT. 35 



action that would apply to all cases. Very much of the soil that 

 is commonly termed worn out, and which in reality produces little 

 or nothing, is rich in nearly all the elements requisite to support 

 vegetation, some one alone being necessary to be supplied to cause 

 it to produce bountiful crops. Now had the farmer sufficient 

 knowledge to enable him to determine what was lacking in the 

 soil, he would at once be prepared to apply the proper remedy. 

 But as the majority of farmers have not that knowledge, and prob- 

 ably will not have for a long series of years, if ever, the only course 

 that we should feel justified in recommending to them would be 

 to avail themselves of the knowledge and experience of others, and 

 apply such remedies as their own judgment should dictate as being 

 best adapted to the circumstances in which they are situated, not- 

 ing carefully the result of each different course pursued, and fol- 

 lowing up that which proves the most successful and economical. 

 For it is a question of the utmost importance with a large propor- 

 tion of the farmers of Maine, not only to know how they are to 

 improve their land, but also at the same time how they are to sup- 

 port themselves and those dependent on them. Any course that 

 will not enable them to do this, we would by no means recommend. 

 Farming "for pleasure, by those who have plenty of capital is very 

 different business from that of farming as a means of subsistence 

 and of securing a competence against a time of need, by those 

 whose capital is invested in a sterile soil and a stout heart, The 

 first class care not for expense, and can resort to any means to 

 secure the end. To the latter class economy is of vital impor- 

 tance. They must of necessity be very cautious in adopting new 

 theories ; and they should be so, for it is no uncommon thing for 

 agricultural writers, and those professing to be teachers in the 

 principles of agriculture, to make assertions and advance theories 

 which have no foundation in practice. 



A liberal and proper application of barn manure, together with 

 a thorough pulverization of the soil, and a frequent stirring of the 

 surface, is a sure method of renovating land, however exhausted. 



But whether that is the best and cheapest manner must be de- 

 termined by the circumstances in which the farmer is situated. At 

 all events we would recommend him to look well to his manure 

 heap. It is a source of wealth which should by no means be neg- 

 lected. Quite too little attention is paid by farmers in general to 

 the manufacture of manure upon their own premises. There are 



