134 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



That being the fact, where is the benefit of applying a double 

 quantity of nitrogen for the purpose of experimenting, and 

 publishing the results for the benefit of the farming commu- 

 nity? 



Mr. HoBBARD. Stable manure is one of the most variable 

 things that I have any knowledge of. It may be rich in 

 nitrogen, it may be exceedingly poor in nitrogen. It may be 

 rich in phosphoric acid, it may be exceedingly poverty-stricken 

 in that element. I do not see how it can be used as any 

 standard by which to measure the composition of any other 

 manure. As to the use of applying fertilizers, one containing 

 a very small proportion of nitrogen, another containing a 

 larger proportion, and another containing a very liberal pro- 

 portion, to the corn crop, and publishing the results, if those 

 experiments show what the value of nitrogen is, it seems to 

 me a very clear gain. If the nitrogen is proven to be of 

 value, we can continue to use it. "We do not expect, of 

 course, that these experiments are to be profitable in the 

 direct production of crops ; they are not tried with any such 

 idea as that. They are valuable for the information we 

 derive from them, and if by trying these comparative experi- 

 ments with different proportions of nitrogen in the fertilizer 

 we find that a very small proportion of nitrogen does as well 

 as a large proportion, we are under no necessity of paying 

 for the large proportion, if the small will answer our purpose 

 just as well. 



Mr. Webb. The point I wanted to make was this. If I 

 want to buy a special fertilizer for a crop of corn, I will sup- 

 ply, as far as I can, the constituents of stable manure, the 

 analysis of which is taken as the basis. I buy these constituents 

 in the form of phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and potash, and 

 when I go to the chemist to buy these articles, I have got to 

 do precisely the same as I do when I go to buy stable manure; 

 they are of different qualities in the market, they vary in 

 their analyses the same as stable manure does. I may buy 

 kainit, I may buy muriate of potash, I may buy sulphate of 

 potash, and they will all vary in their analyses. You have 

 the same variations precisely in the combinations of any 



