76 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Chester Sage of Middletown, Conn., found potash to be 

 nearly all that was needed. Still others, like myself, found 

 both phosphoric acid and potash to be needed ; and, again, 

 others found a complete fertilizer, furnishing phosphoric 

 acid, potash and nitrogen, to be the most profitable. Such 

 was the experience of Mr. Atwood, Watertown, Conn. In 

 most cases the addition of nitrogen was found to be unprofi- 

 table ; but there was one notable exception, that of Mr. 

 Newton of Durham, Conn., who found "that every plot 

 without nitrogen was a failure, and every one with it gave a 

 large yield, and the produce rose and fell regularly witli the 

 amount of nitrogen applied." By these exceptions I have 

 cited, you will see that this is a work you cannot delegate to 

 our experiment-stations or others, but each one must do it 

 for himself, and repeat it every few years. 



While the average of all these experiments reported to 

 Prof. Atwater show that the mixture of phosphoric acid, pot- 

 ash and nitrogen gave the largest yields, yet when used on 

 corn, in but thirty experiments out of one hundred and fifty, 

 did the addition of nitrogen increase the crop over mixed 

 minerals enough to pay for its cost. Such an average result 

 is of value to all, indicating, as it does, that farmers cannot 

 afibrd to pay much for the nitrogen in commercial fertilizers 

 until by experiment they have found it to be needed by their 

 soil. And fertilizer manufacturers should learn by them to 

 put in their goods more phosphoric acid and potash with less 

 expensive nitrogeneous materials, as farmers, with but few 

 exceptions, cannot afibrd to pay the high prices they are re- 

 quired to for nitrogen. Nitrogen as a fertilizer, in the form 

 of ammonia or nitric acid, is not at our command. Its pres- 

 ence in the soil is essential for the growth of our crops, but 

 it is absorbed from the air by the soil in nitric acid and am- 

 monia. The decay of vegetable matter in the soil is also 

 constantly adding to the supply, and the rains, Avhicli in hot, 

 showery weather bring down large amounts of it, are also 

 leaching it out of the soil in the form of nitric acid. Surely 

 we cannot afford to pay dearly for sach an unstable sub- 

 stance, which is continually coming and going in the water 

 supply. 



The great range of variation in the results obtained by 



