"THE NEW AGRICULTURE." 



By BURNET LANDRETH. 

 (Read May 4, igo6.) 



The use of Peruvian guano and other concentrated fertiHzers 

 may be said to have been the initial steps leading to a new birth of 

 agriculture. 



Peruvian guano was introduced about one hundred years ago, 

 but did not get into general use until about 1840, at about which 

 time was introduced into frequent use ground bones and super-phos- 

 phate of lime, two manurial agents which have accomplished more 

 than any other soil fertilizers, and at the same time into partial use 

 nitrate of soda and nitrate of potash ; all these objects of fertilizing 

 force being greatly concentrated in comparison with the bulky fer- 

 tilizers of earlier years, manures which still are highly valued, but 

 such as cannot be profitably transported long distances. The use of 

 these concentrated fertilizers in Europe increased the area of the 

 sugar beet fields to an enormous extent as well as the area of every- 

 thing else in the agricultural line. 



In America, by these very rapid and cheap methods of adding 

 plant foods to the soil, so-called fertilizer factories sprung up in all 

 directions over the land and the crops of grain, cotton, tobacco, and 

 other productions of the garden and field were doubled in product 

 per acre as well as quadrupled in area. This subject of fertilizers, 

 however, may be looked upon as a back number, or as hardly now 

 to be classed in the process of " the new agriculture," but increased 

 crops led up to other developments. Neither can steam plowing 

 be looked upon as a new process of " the new agriculture," for it 

 was practically pursued fifty years ago largely in England and Ger- 

 many and to some extent in Egypt, but it broadened immensely 

 the scope of agricultural practice. In America, however, steam 

 plowing in early days never took a very prominent place, because 

 until of late years there were few great American farming estates 



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