COMBINED WITH PHOSPHORIC ACID. 69 



my farm in Essex County, that I pass it with less regret than 

 I otherwise should. That address has been widely dissemi- 

 nated through the agricultural press recently, and therefore 

 I. presume it has come under the notice of most of the gentle- 

 men before me. 



In closing, I have but a few brief remarks to add. We 

 live, gentlemen, in an important and responsible ejDOch, and 

 the claims made upon us as studious, investigating farmers, 

 are very great. We cannot escape the consequences of indif- 

 ference or thriftless inaction in our field labors. If we neither 

 study nor think in the prosecution of our daily duties, we 

 shall inevitably fall so far iuto the rear, that the place of 

 honor and reward, the advance line, will never be reached, 

 and we shall share the fate of the laggard as he is presented 

 to us in every department of industry. 



Mr. Paul. I wish to ask one question before I forget it ; 

 and that is. What is the objection to applying nitrate of soda 

 by itself? Why make the combination with phosphoric 

 acid ? 



Dr. Nichols. I have always found in my own experience 

 that I did not receive from it the results I anticipated. I do 

 not know that I can tell precisely the reason. I only know 

 that that has been the experience of experimenters abroad, 

 and, as far as my knowledge extends, it has been the experi- 

 ence of very many in this country. We really know a great 

 deal about the results of the new chemical fertilizers ; but in 

 justice we should certainly say that there are a great many 

 points that we do not clearly understand. Now, in answer 

 to the question, I may sa}^ that we have not found, and I do 

 not believe, that you can base an accurate judgment in the 

 use of these- fertilizers upon an analysis of the plants which 

 you are to fertilize by the use of these agents. I think that 

 has been proved over and over and over again. I do not 

 think that practice has proved, that, if you apply a certain 

 amount of nitrogenous bodies to the grasses or to the cereals 

 which contain large amounts of nitrogen, you will get the 

 results that you might anticipate you would get. Perhaps 

 that answers the question. 



I would say here, that I think that the opinion which I gave 

 would be corroborated by Dr. Sturtevant and other gentle- 



