FERTILIZATION. 131 



And further, if increased numbers demand a supply of prov- 

 ender beyond the present production of the farm, the issue 

 must be met l)oth for the near and remote future. If the 

 lands are in an exhausted, condition, or, perchance, it may be 

 that the cash productions sold from the farm are of such a 

 nature as to draw heavily upon the fertility of the soil ; in 

 that case fertilization must be supplied by purchase and 

 brought upon the farm. The kinds and amount that it may 

 be most profitable for the farmer to purchase and use, is 

 without doubt the most perplexing question he meets in the 

 whole scope of his business. 



To decide these questions understandingly one must avail 

 himself of the results obtained at our experiment station, the 

 knowledge diffused by the agricultural press and '* Farmer's 

 Institutes ; " he must be an earnest student of the hidden 

 things of nature, and he must have such a love for his calling 

 as will induce him to conduct many experiments with the 

 •closest personal observation. When all is done, he may well 

 call to mind the dying words of that great philosopher who 

 discovered the laws of gravitation : — that he had but strayed 

 upon the verge of the boundless ocean of knowledge and 

 gathered a few shells and pebbles from its shores. 



Agricultural chemistry has taught us that of the twenty or 

 more different elements that enter into the vegetable and 

 animal structure, all but three are found almost everywhere 

 in an abundance. These three elements in varied propor- 

 tions and different compounds are found alike in our hay- 

 mows, our grain-bins and in our manure heaps, also in the 

 honest brands of commercial fertilizers. Then it will follow 

 that as we may add to our store of either of these we shall 

 in like proportion increase the fertility of our farms. But 

 the perplexing question is constantly before us, in what form 

 can they be bought the cheapest. 



Notwithstanding the legislation for the protection of the 

 honest manufacturer, as well as the purchaser, nevertheless 

 the common farmer feels that in the purchase of the many 

 varieties of commercial manures he is not " master of the 

 situation." Influenced by these considerations, we have ad- 

 vised farmers to keep stock or make their own fertilizers as 

 much as possible, to buy grain to be fed out to animals 



