The Bulletin. 



59 



Soil is the mixture of disintegrated rocks and rotten vegetable matter. It is 

 the great gravevard of nature, to which all things must return, and yet from 

 which springs forth again tiie food of all vc'getal>le and animal life. 



It might be of interest to know how these elements are lil)erated or supplied 

 to the soil, but that is another subject; so sullice it to say that the order in 

 creation is,' that the rocks supply the minerals; plants feed on these minerals; 

 animals feed on the plants; while omnivorous man, lord of all, feeds on both 

 animals and plants. 



With these forewords it is hoped that we may better understand 'the more im- 

 porta'nt matter which follows: 



There are fifteen elements which are found in the composition of plants, and 

 ten that are essential for tlieir proper growth. But it has been found, after years 

 of experience, that the soil contains a sufiicient supply of seven of these, that are 

 available to plants, which leaves only three about which we farmers should be 

 concerned, and should be much concerned about, too, for on these the plant is 

 dependent for growth and fruit. These three plant foods are phosphorus, nitro- 

 gen, and potassium. Some claim that lime is needed, but experience indicates 

 that it acts on the soil rather than by supplying a plant food. Yet on some soils 

 an application has proven to be profitable. 



We know that some soils have sufhcient amounts of one or more of these ele- 

 ments that are available for the plants to utilize, consequently it would be waste 

 of time and money to supply more of these to such soils. But there are few 

 lands that will not be benefited by at least a small application of each of these 

 three elements. But to find out the needs of your soils in this respect you need 

 to test your land yourself with the difTerent fertilizers. You may then judge 

 from the growth and yield of the various plats as to the needs of your soil. But 

 do not fall into the mistake that what one field needs all need, because any one 

 knows that a single field often has several types of soils in it, and so for best 

 results each type should be tested as above mentioned. 



Ist row, no fertilizer --- 



2nd and 3rd, Phosphoric Acid 



4th row, no fertihzer - 



5th and 6th, Phosphoric and Nitrogen 



7th row, no fertilizer --- - 



8th and 9th, Nitrogen ,--- -- 



10th row, no fertilizer -- 



11th and 12th, Nitrogen and Potash 



13th row, no fertilizer _ - 



14th and 15th, Potash 



16th row, no fertilizer - 



17th and 18th, Phosphoric Acid and Potash - 



19th row, no fertilizer 



20th and 2l3t, Phosphoric Acid, Nitrogen and Potash. 



Phosphoric Acid. 



Phosphoric Acid and Nitrogen. 



Nitrogen. 



JPotash and Nitrogen. 



Potash. 



Phosphoric Acid and Potash. 



Phosphoric, Nitrogen and Potash. 



This experiment may be duplicated by using each element in varying quantities. 

 The rows giving best crop returns will show what fertilizers the soils need and 

 which it will pay best to use. Tlie soil should be about the same in all of these 

 plats, so as to give uniform results. It is generally known that phosphoric acid 

 is the only form in which phosphorus is available to plants as a food. And 

 potash is the common name given to the forms of potassium that are available 

 to plants. 



