362 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



bushels of shelled corn per acre, and an excellent growth of 

 stalks, and so far as I can see, corn, manured in this way leaves 

 the land in very good condition. In one case for instance, a suc- 

 ceeding crop of oats with no manure, gave 40 bushels per acre. 

 For this region these are good yields." 



How this plan would work on other crops Mr. Fairchild is not 

 yet prepared to say. He is inclined to think his best plan is to 

 use his stable manure for corn, and piece out with bone and potash 

 salt, and to follow with other crops using commercial fertilizers 

 alone. But he adds "that others may find it best to use the 

 manure on other crops, and depend upon commercial fertilizers 

 alone for corn." This he regards as " much cheaper so far as the 

 corn is concerned, than to haul manure from city stables." 



In this way Mr. Fairchild gave me results of his experimenting 

 enough to make a long article, fortifying every point by facts; 

 oftener saying "I do not feel sure," or "one cannot judge such a 

 thing from a few experiments," than giving a categorical answer 

 to my questions, showing' everywhere the spirit of the true in- 

 vestigator, and refraining from positive conclusions as long as 

 there was room for doubt. 



One of the questions to which I solicited a brief answer was 

 this. Can you state some of the ways in which your experiments 

 have been of direct practical utility to you ? 



The answer was this, "I think they have helped me, and will 

 help me in many ways : 



1. They show what fertilizing materials my crops must have. 



2. They show me in what quantities, in what forms, and in what 

 ways I should apply different fertilizers. 



3. They save me money by enabling me to buy what I want 

 without using a large quantity of materials I do not want. 



4. I think I shall thus be enabled to raise all kinds of crops on 

 very poor land with profit. 



WHY BOYS LEAVE THE FARM. 



One of Mr. Fairchild's remarks impressed me greatly. It was 

 this: 



" Under the old system of farming, it is no wonder the boys 

 leave the farms. You can't blame them. I did so myself, came 

 back, tried again, and should have given up once more if it had 

 not been for these experiments, and what I have learned in con- 

 nection with them. As it is, I find myself giving up outside 



