FERTILIZATION. 135 



there need be hardly any limit to the amount of corn fodder 

 produced ; so the amount of stock kept |andf manure made 

 will be governed only by the farmer's space, capital and 

 enterprise. Such being the case, there can be no question 

 but that the most economical method to be pursued in enrich- 

 ing our soils is by stock-raising and stock-feeding. 



The kinds of stock to be kept, the manner of feeding, 

 whether we shall produce for the dairy or the shambles are 

 each inviting topics that have been ably discussed at former 

 meetings of this Board. But in passing allow me to suggest 

 that whatever we feed, whether plants or animals, feed with 

 a liberal hand.* Many men cherish the belief that there must 

 be some magical way of producing large crops by other than 

 the simple means I have detailed ; they have been impatient 

 with this Board that they have not ere this issued a pamphlet 

 filled with recipes for the production of this or that crop on 

 any kind of soil. Too many have been slow to learn that the 

 laws governing growth in the animal are equally applicable 

 to the vegetable kinofdom. Some have claimed that in their 

 farm practice they have actually made exhausted lands fertile 

 by the mere turning under of green crops without the appli- 

 cation of manure in any other form. However much I may 

 respect the experience of practical men, I must say that my 

 farming on this line has not been attended with flattering 

 results, and I have been at a loss to learn the kind, amount 

 and source of such fertilization that was not derived from 

 the soil in the production of the crop turned under. 



In short it has seemed to me like feeding bacon to the 

 hogs, or pursuing the policy of the woman who fed chopped 

 boiled eggs to make her hens lay. 



Some claim that the building of silos and the feeding of 

 ensilage will increase the fertility of the farm. In the work- 

 ing of this system, I have had no experience and little 

 opportunity for observation, so I will not utter a single dis- 

 paraging word. I consider tKat the economy of storing and 

 feeding by this method is as yet an open question. Many 

 believe that great additions may be made to our resources by 

 composting scanty quantities of manure with muck and earth. 

 Some I have known who seemed to delight in the use of the 

 shovel, to be possessed with the belief that if they put one 



