50 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



be forked over several weeks before using, and thrown 

 into heaps ; and the fermentation which follows will destroy 

 a large portion of the seed. 



In all hoed crops, be sure to plant in such a way that every 

 hill, vine, or plant can be reached with the cultivator ; and 

 my practice is, where I grow small-fruits, to leave a sufficient 

 margin on the ends of the rows for the horse to come round 

 without injury to the plants. Farmers often make a great 

 mistake in allowing weeds to get a good start before putting 

 in the cultivator or the hoe. In raising onions, or, in fact, 

 any crop where clean culture is important, it will cost less 

 to hoe it once in eight days than it will to hoe it once in 

 fifteen days. This rule I have strictly adhered to ever since 

 I commenced farming for profit. 



The making of manure and its application, and the use 

 of fertilizers, is a subject closely connected with successful 

 farming. Immense sums are annually expended for fertil- 

 izers, without any certainty of a profitable result. After all 

 the light which science has shed upon this important sub- 

 ject, the average farmer still remains in a state of glorious 

 uncertainty as to the possibilities resulting from the use of 

 fertilizers ; and even the perfect plant-food manures so in- 

 geniously elaborated by Professor Stockbridge have been 

 known to differ from the promised result. What fertilizer 

 would you advise me to use on this crop or that ? is a ques- 

 tion which has become stereotyped among farmers. I regard 

 this as a hopeful sign ; for, when a man begins to ask ques- 

 tions, it shows that the conceit has been taken out of him, 

 and he is ready to learn. 



Now, here is where a little brain-work is called into requi- 

 sition. Before a physician can treat a patient successfully, 

 he must first learn, by symptoms or otherwise, the nature 

 of his disease. So a farmer must first learn, by observation 

 or experiment, what particular element of plant-food his 

 soil is deficient in, before he can determine which is the 

 proper fertilizer for him to apply for a given crop. This is 

 something that a farmer must learn himself, and then gov- 

 ern himself accordingly. I received a letter from an old 

 acquaintance some years ago, saying he was intending to 

 plant six acres of potatoes, but was in doubt as to the fertil- 

 izer he should use. 



