EXPERIMENTS WITH MANURE. 47 



The Connecticut farmers, under the advice and direction 

 of Professor Atwater of the Connecticut Experiment Sta- 

 tion, are finding out what their land needs, by experimental 

 tests with separate ingredients of plant-food. By so doing 

 they are cultivating their powers of observation, and redu- 

 cing the cost of fertilizing to the lowest point. 



Professor Atwater says, " Chemists cannot prescribe for 

 soils as doctors do for patients." He also says, " Stable- 

 manure is a complete fertilizer. It contains all the ingre- 

 dients of plant-food; and its organic matter improves the 

 mechanical condition of the soil besides. It is a standard 

 fertilizer, and useful everywhere. To learn by what artificial 

 fertilizer this can be supplemented in any given case, is, as I 

 have often insisted, best settled by experience and experi- 

 ment." 



Mr. Ware's experiments show that Darling's Animal Fer- 

 tilizer is much better for growing corn on his land than the 

 Stockbridge; also that the Stockbridge grew better onions 

 than stable-manure. 



Mr. King's experiment shows that the Stockbridge Fertil- 

 izer works well on his land, and, if he can continue to grow 

 such crops year after year with the same amount of fertilizer, 

 he can get his corn cheap ; but, if Darling's will do as much 

 better for him as it did for Mr. Ware, he can grow it still 

 better with that. 



INIr. Appleton's experiment is the most interesting to me, 

 because the Stockbridge Fertilizer is brought in competition 

 mth stable-manure. Mr. Ware's experiment, combined with 

 Mr. Appleton's, shows me that I do not need either the 

 Stockbridge or Darling Fertilizer ; for I can get all the good 

 barn-cellar manure I think it good economy to use on what 

 land I have at four dollars per cord, or less, including the 

 cost of putting it on the land. I get it by buying hay and 

 grain, and making milk and manure. Since the spring of 

 1874 I have bought between three and four thousand dol- 

 lars' worth of ha}' and grain for making milk. I know the 

 milk has paid for the hay and grain, besides keeping the 

 stock of cows good ; and that the labor of tending stock and 

 manure will not amount to more than four dollars per cord 

 for the manure, after it is spread on the land, I have barn- 

 room enough for as many animals as I have acres of land, 



