FERTILIZERS FOR VEGETABLES. 125 



• 



I trust you are not all wearied with the discussion of this 

 morning upon the fertilization of the soil, because I want to 

 present, as the commencement of vegetable growing, a few of 

 my own ideas in regard to the preparation of the soil by means 

 of fertilizers. I think you must all have been struck, not only 

 with the difficulties that lie in the way of the scientific gen- 

 tleman who addressed us with regard to the value of the appli- 

 cation of commercial fertilizers, but with the different views 

 entertained by practical farmers, who use every variety of fer- 

 tilizer that they can lay their hands on. There was considerable 

 disagreement, and nobody seemed exactly satisfied, or to have 

 come to any definite conclusion. Dr. Nichols gave us an inter- 

 esting account of the way in which he had brought up his farm 

 in nine years, from comparative worthlessness to a condition of 

 fertility that was admirable ; but he did not go so far as to tell 

 us exactly how he did it. And when he condemned the usual 

 fertilizers found in the market, he did not state distinctly the 

 means by which he himself has brought his farm up, nor the 

 kind of fertilizer he used precisely. Notwithstanding the value 

 of his lecture, we were left a little in the dark about that, and 

 I [felt when he got through that there was really no super- 

 phosphate that was useful for the purposes of cultivation. 

 When we came down to the discussion among the practical farm- 

 ers who were present, we were in the same difficulty. Nobody 

 could tell us precisely what was the best method of fertilizing 

 an acre of corn. The question was asked me here this after- 

 noon, what the best manure to put upon potatoes was. So we 

 were all left a little in the dark, a good deal afloat ; I was, at 

 any rate. And when Dr. Nichols said that we must accept 

 fixed laws, those things that had been established, I had a mind 

 to get up and say, " I will thank any gentlemen to show me 

 what is fixed," for I am so hungry that I am ready to accept 

 almost anything. 



It seems .to me, gentlemen, that the difficulty is this. This 

 matter of fertilizers is one of the most intricate and complex 

 with which we have to deal. Precisely what the soil wants 

 nobody can tell, any more than we can tell precisely what an 

 animal wants, in order that he may be developed to the highest 

 point of perfection. We know he needs nourishing food, but 

 what that is, we do not know exactly. I am satisfied that fer- 



