204 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



and Peruvian guano. I would say, that, if I had used the 

 Peruvian guano to the exclusion of the superphosphates and 

 the dissolved raw bone and fish-scrap, in my opinion I 

 should have had a great many hundred dollars more in my 

 pocket. I have used these articles on the various crops that 

 are cultivated by our small farmers. I have raised garden 

 vegetables to some extent, early and late cabbages, potatoes, 

 and some hay. I have sold some years more than five hun- 

 dred dollars' worth of hay from this small amount of land, a 

 very few grapes, some strawberries, and a little asparagus. I 

 believe that I have covered the whole ground that I have 

 gone over, in short, and I will- not take any more of your 

 time. 



Capt. M00E.E of Concord. The subject as it reads on the 

 programme is, " The management of night-soil. Discussion 

 on manures and fertilizers to follow." Therefore, if I keep my 

 finger out of the night-soil, and attend to the manures and 

 fertilizers, I shall be in order, I think ; and let me say, that I 

 think I can speak advisedly on this subject, because I feel — as 

 Mr. Philbrick does, and Mr. Rawson, and all the farmers I see 

 about here — the want of manure. That is the question that 

 is staring farmers in the face to-day : that is the question you 

 have got to meet. Well, very likely my notions about this 

 matter may not commend themselves to all present in this 

 meeting. Some of them think, " We will use nothing but 

 manures, strictly speaking, animal excrements : " others think 

 " We will use nothing but fertilizers." I do not believe either 

 one of you is right. My idea is simply this ; and this is what 

 I have practised, and what I honestly believe : if it is not right, 

 it is fair to state it. I believe that every farmer in Massachu- 

 setts, in the first place, should save all the waste of the farm 

 for manure he can, and buy all the manure he can get after- 

 wards ; I mean as far as his pocket and crops will warrant. 

 After doing that, there is something more to be done. There 

 is no doubt in my mind about one thing ; and that is, that, 

 when you apply all of these manures, you do not make the 

 thing perfect for the crop. Again : when you apply simply 

 stable-manure in some instances, there can be no doubt that 

 certain crops require a large amount of some particular ele- 

 ment of fertility — nitrogen, or potash, or phosphoric acid — 

 over and above another crop. Now, it seems to me, it is only 



