1 62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



Mr. HoYT. Do you think that nitrate of soda in a green- 

 house would be a cause of disease? 



Mr. Clinton. Why, in reply to that, I should think that 

 nitrate of soda alone could not be the cause, although the 

 germ which causes disease might produce a bacterial disease. 

 I am not so sure what the result would be. 



Mr. HoYT. Why I asked the question was because I have 

 noticed that it sometimes produces a scab. 



Mr. Clinton. It might in some way work to produce a 

 scab, but I should not think it would alone. I know that it 

 encourages the growth of those germs which do make scab. 

 Then I have known nitrate to be used in such concentrated 

 doses that it has literally killed the plants, or destroyed the 

 plants because of its caustic action. I have done that some- 

 times in farm crop work where I thought I had put it in the 

 drill in fine form, but where it actually went in concentrated 

 or lumpy form, and was very much too concentrated, so that 

 the plants were literally destroyed by the nitrate. 



The President. I take it then, to sum this thing all up, 

 that your advice to the farmers of Connecticut would be to 

 haul out their manure and spread it on the field as quickly as 

 possible. 



Mr. Clinton. Yes, sir. 



A Member. Mr. President, I would like to ask how much 

 more benefit he thinks he would get by putting it on with a 

 spreader than by hand? 



Mr. Clinton. Why, that is simply the difference in the 

 cost of labor. That is a computation in dollars and cents which 

 I could not make for you. I say this, however, that no matter 

 how carefully the ground is prepared in spreading it by hand 

 it is wise to distribute the manure so that it covers the whole 

 land and not put it on in chunks. In applying manure in top 

 dressing grass lands, especially, it is important to have it all 

 picked to pieces so that the large masses of manure will not 

 fall upon one place upon the grass. A manure spreader picks 



