1883.] FERTILIZERS. 67 



fusorial beings. Therefore, it is not the size of a subject 

 that determines its importance, so much as its bearings 

 upon other subjects with which all the world has to deal — 

 the littles. And so, in all experimental work pertaining to 

 agriculture, we have to deal with the littles, and until those 

 littles are determined it is almost impossible to get at a true 

 understanding of results we are willing to call great. 



Since I had the pleasure of meeting this board the last 

 time, I have had to change my method of talking a great 

 deal. I find that I now have to draw a line, and keep that 

 line clearly marked both before myself and the public ; and 

 that line is between what I know, and the inferences which I 

 draw from that knowledge. I have found it necessary, during 

 the last year, to change the opinions which I had formerly 

 assumed to be correct, and to change so many times that now 

 it is as easy for me to change my mind as to turn over in 

 bed. 



I was requested on my way toward the platform to make a 

 few remarks in connection with the fertilizer question, ex 

 perimentally. Now, those who may be acquainted with my 

 past know that I have paid some attention to fertilizers, but 

 in going upon the farm of the New York Experiment Sta- 

 tion, I felt as if I had not sufficient knowledge to justify 

 prompt experiments upon the land, and thus we have ex- 

 pended our appropriation for one year, twenty thousand 

 dollars, without having tried one single direct experiment 

 with fertilizers. Whatever we have learned in regard to 

 fertilizers has been incidental. I speak of this because I 

 want the audience to know how I feel about it, and how I 

 think they ought to look upon their own Agricultural Scliool 

 and Agricultural Experiment Station, and see how easy it is 

 to cry for agricultural experiments with fertilizers, and yet 

 how difficult it is to make them. If I had time, I could read 

 you record upon record of experiments which would show the 

 futility of the experiments rather than the value of the ferti- 

 lizer applied. I will take time to give one, and I will use the 

 blackboard to illustrate. 



