290 STATE BOAKD OF AGEICULTUKE. 



On the porous land of Cheshire and similar soils on the red-sandstone forma- 

 tion, the result is very striking. On land Avliich is wet and cold and rests on a 

 poor, undrained subsoil, bones of ter produce no effect. He recommends in all 

 cases, a trial on a small scale. 



EXPERIMENTS. 



Experiments to be of much value must be kept up for a long time. As Prof. 

 Voelcker says, "Field experiments, in order to be practically useful, should 

 always be tried for a succession of years under as great a variety of conditions 

 as regards soil, time, and mode of application, and crops, as possible." This 

 should be continued from year to year according to the same plan as fixed upon 

 in tlie previous years. Some of the best experiments made, at great expense, 

 in England, were tried for 30 successive years before arriving at satisfactory 

 conclusions. 



Old pastures in England often get a dressing of 150 lbs. of nitrate of soda, or 

 300 lbs. of guano, or 200 lbs. of superphosphate, sown broadcast on each acre. 

 Such dressings with barnvard manure are often applied until the land produces 

 well. 



In a prize essay by Clement Cadle he claims much experience in the manur- 

 ing of grass lands, — a most difficult subject. He has seen bones do no good 

 whatever, and he ha> ^eon them u-ed Avith immense advantag-e. He has seen 

 guano used and produce a splendid crop the same year, and next year the crop 

 was worse than before the guano wa? a})})lied. It seems impossible to tell with 

 certainty just which fertilizers will do the best on any soil till they have been 

 tried. Mr. Cadle' s rule is thi< : ''In proportion as the land is inclined to grow 

 benty or stocky grass, inclining to seed, he applies ammoniacal manures. If 

 the land produces thick, sliort, leafy herbage, the pliosphatic manures must be 

 applied." After twenty years he concludes that in England money judiciously 

 used in improving gra^s land pays a more certain return tlian where expended 

 in the growtli of wheat. 



S. H. Thomson, a prominent farmer of York, also concludes that money 

 used in improving grass land gives a better return than on arable land. He says 

 that "firmness and quality cannot be secured with large bulk. For qiumtity 

 of hay or pasture use guano, nitrate of soda, soot, or other ammoniacal manure ; 

 for quality use lime or bones ; for medium quantity, and quality, use bath 

 classes of fertilizers.'" Coarsely pulverized bones and barnyard manure produce 

 lasting results, often very marked for twenty years. Good barnyard nuinure is 

 the standard, and never fails to improve grass lands. In the report for 1875, 

 Mr. Lawes, the most celebrated English experimenter, says: "The a])plication 

 of bones to grass land is not recommended for general adoption. They appear 

 to be chiefly adapted to the exhausted pastures of certain localities. The sanie 

 is true with lime. Every man must experiment." He adds: "I am disposed 

 to think that a dressing of dung once in five years, and 200 1))S. of nitrate of 

 soda the other four years, is about as good an application as can be used." I 

 should recommend a mixture of fertilizers found to be good, or a rotation of 

 their use. 



The English well know the great importance of excellent pasture to fatten 

 cattle. They feed such cattle while grazing, oil-cake, meal, etc., for a two-fold 

 object, namely : to help fatten the cattle, and to help enrich the soil, and so 

 make the pasture better. This is sound doctrine, which we all understand. 

 There are certain well-known truths in regard to numures that are almost axi- 



