CULTURE OF GREEN CROPS. 15 



there is still to be investigated, and the great amount of 

 knowledge we can get, and the good that may result to the 

 farming community, by such investigations, provided that 

 they can be practically applied in the every-day operations 

 on our farms. 



What the farmer, who by his labor on his land supports 

 his family and educates his children, wants to know is, how- 

 to prepare his land, manure it, plant it, cultivate and harvest 

 the crop, so as to get the largest return at the least expense. 

 That is practical knowledge ; that is something tangible, 

 one can feel it in his pocket ; that is what the farmers want 

 to know: and I may be allowed to speak for them, as I am 

 one of their number. 



And v^hen I say that the farmer wants more practical and 

 less theoretical teaching, from the college down to the news- 

 papers, I but echo the opinions of the best farmers in the 

 country. 



The first thing to be done by a person intending to grow a 

 crop of roots or vegetables is to select a proper piece of land 

 that has a soil adapted to the crop intended to be grown. 

 As an illustration, you should not expect to succeed perfectly, 

 if you planted onions, cabbages, mangel-wurzel, and some 

 other crops, on a light, sandy soil ; or carrots, parsnips, ruta- 

 bagas, on a heavy, wet soil. There might be a partial crop, 

 but not a success. Therefore adaptation of the soil to the 

 crop is the first essential thing. This the grower must from 

 his experience decide for himself. The next is the prepara- 

 tion of the soil. There are two things in the preparation of 

 a piece of land to fit it to grow a crop : one is the fertilizer, 

 or plant-food, to be applied so as to give the plant the requi- 

 site nourishment to perfect its root, tuber, or seed ; the other, 

 the working or mechanical preparation of the soil before the 

 planting of the seed. 



Now, then, a full success will depend not only on the 

 quantity of manure applied, but on its particular composi- 

 tion, and its adaptation to the crop to be grown. Eminent 

 chemists have clearly demonstrated that all plants require 

 certain elements of plant-growth : among these are nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash, they being the principal ones ; 

 also some others which do not appear to be of that impor- 

 tance practically considered, as they are usually found in 



