EXPERIMENTS WITH FERTILIZERS. 79 



necticut Experiment Station in 1879, more than two-thirds 

 of the potash was found to be muriate. At first I used to 

 buy sulphate entirely for my potatoes in field culture ; after- 

 wards I bought one-half each, and last season I used muri- 

 ate only, with equally good results and at less cost. To 

 those intending to try similar experiments for themselves, a 

 few words with regard to how to conduct them may not be 

 out of place here. In the first place, parts of the farm 

 which are the most impoverished, if of uniform condition, 

 are the best for this purpose. 



The plots should be staked out one rod wide and eight 

 lon<r, which will o'ive one-twentieth of an acre to each, and 

 should be all parallel to each other. 



After the land is ploughed and harrowed across the plots, 

 a chain should be drawn straight from stake to stake, be- 

 tween each plot, as a guide to sow the fertilizer by. The " 

 fertilizers having been properly mixed for each plot, with a 

 little sawdust or earth added to the smallest quantities to 

 make the bulk of them about equal to the largest, and if 

 windy they should be moistened by sprinkling with water as 

 mixed, to prevent their blowing away when sown. They 

 should all be sown in the drill or broadcast, the thickest in 

 the centre of the plots, without reaching quite to the edge, 

 to avoid mixing with the adjoining plots. They should all 

 be planted, hoed and harvested as nearly at the same time as 

 possible, and carefully weighed and recorded. Do not put 

 the fertilizers in the hill, for some of the materials will burn 

 the seed more than others, and so vitiate the results. 



Farmers of Massachusetts, you are asking. How can we 

 keep the boys on the farm ? If you would keep them there 

 you must interest them in farming, and make it as attractive 

 as other occupations. In nearly all business pursuits money 

 is the principal attraction to the Yankee hoy. The farmers' 

 boys usually leave the farm because they think that there is 

 more money to be made in other occupations. They see 

 that in many cases farming does not pay as well as other 

 kinds of business. But there really is no reason why it 

 should not. It can be made to pay, and to pay well ; but 

 times are changing, new ways and methods are required to 

 meet the changes made by time. The ways of a previous 



