130 ^ EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



" Potash, as a fertilizer, is of special value to clover, pease and other leguminous 

 crops ; potatoes, beets, cabbage, grasses and leafy plants in general, are also 

 benetited by it. It should form a large part of manures for orchards and all fruit 

 trees. 



" Phosphoric acid, combined principally with lime, is found in all fertile soils. 

 Like potash, it has been derived from the rock that originated the soil, and conse- 

 quently is not constant in quantity. It never exceeds 1 per cent, even in the richest 

 soils, and the average in good soils is about "2 per cent. 



"It benefits chiefly root crops, e.g., turnips and beets, and in conjunction with 

 nitrogenous manures is very effective for the cereals, promoting an early maturity 

 and an increased 3'ield. 



" Lime. — Of the inorganic elements of minor importance, lime is the principal. 

 It affords food dicectly to the plant and liberates in the soil potash and nitrogen 

 pre-existent in insoluble forms. Many consider that less than 1 per cent shows a 

 soil to be deficient in lime, and calcareous soils are almost invariably fertile. 



"No special mention need here be made of the other mineral constituents, as 

 most soils contain sufficient for all the requirements of farm crops. 



" Nitrogen is the element of value in the organic portion of a soil. It there 

 exists, for the most part, in forms from which it can be but slowly absorbed by 

 plants. By a process of fermentation, known as nitrification, it is rendered assim- 

 ilable. The presence of lime (carbonate of lime) appears to assist in this useful 

 operation, especially when the ground is sufficiently open for the air to pei'meate it. 

 Moisture and warmth are also necessary to encourage the growth of the microscopic 

 ferment which causes the formation of nitrates from nitrogenous material. 



" Very rich soils contain from "5 per cent to 1 per cent of nitrogen ; good, fertile 

 soils possess on an average from '15 per cent to '25 percent, 



"Nitrogen is essentially the fertilizer for cereals, especially when associated 

 with phosphoric acid. An excess of nitrogen, however, promotes a rank growth of 

 straw." \ 



NOETH-WEST TEERITOEIES. 



The samples Nos. 1, 2 and 3, were forwarded by Messrs. Osier, Hammond and 

 Nanton, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who furnish the following information regarding 

 theii- character: 



Speaking of No. 1, they say, "This soil exists in large quantities along the line 

 of railway between Qu'Appelle Eiver and Saskatoon, and is found as a layer between 

 the surface and subsoil, which latter is clay. Wherever this layer is found the 

 grass is thin and rank, and the general appearance of the soil is cold and barren." 

 Locally, the soil is classed alkaline. 



Eesj^ecting soils Nos. 2 and 3, they quote from a letter written by Mr. Dodd, 

 their inspector, as follows : The sample I^lo. 2 "was taken from the bench west of 

 the arm at Chamberlain (Tp. 22, E. 26, W, 2). There were about 6 inches of surface 

 soil, and 2^ feet of this stuff, perfectly dry. Below this 2^ foot layer was good, 

 sweet clay, and moist. I am satisfied the whole trouble with the land is in this 

 layer. Sample No. 3 is from corner of 2 and 3, 35, 34, Tp. 29, E. 24, W, 2. I fancy 

 it is stronger than the other." 



These soils, which from theii- position must be regarded as subsoils, have in 

 many respects similar characteristics. Air dried, they are almost white, of a very 

 fine texture, and powder easily. They are, essentially, calcareous clays. A mechanical 

 sepai'ation of No. 1 proved it to contain but little true sand, though the treatment 

 served to distinguish between fine clay and small agglutinated masses of clay formed 

 by the cementing action of the carbonate of lime present. Nos. 2 and 3 possess fair 

 proportions of sand. 



Considered chemically, the following inferences may be made. In potash, 

 while No. 1 is somewhat below the average of good soils, Nos. 2 and 3 contain amounts 

 «qual to those in soils of great fertility. The phosphoric acid in all is low, but many 

 soils of an equally small percentage have borne abundant crops. As might be 

 ■lixpected in a subsoil, the percentage of nitrogen is not high, though in this 



