FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 175 



For every pound of ammonia 16 



For every- pound of potash 06 



For every pound of phosphoric acid 08 



What the fertilizer sells for and the "valuation" calculated in this way 

 must agree closely, or customers for the fertilizer will be wanting, 



I would like to ask this question : If you had the money to invest, and 

 you had to pay for barnyard manure f 1.25 a ton, which would you take, 

 twenty tons of barnyard manure or one ton of the commercial fertilizer? 



A voice: The barnyard manure. 



Prof. Kedzie: We know that barnyard manure has certain effects on 

 the soil that must not be overlooked, aside from the plant food it con- 

 tains, and we know that it produces certain physical effects which com- 

 mercial fertilizer cannot produce. When we look at commercial ferti- 

 lizer and realize, that although its composition shows its richness in 

 plant food, that its money cost would purchase at the same rate twenty 

 tons of barnyard manure, we consider that barnyard manure is still a 

 good thing for the general farmer. 



THE USB OF FERTILIZERS IN MICHIGAN. 



Before I had been looking into this matter very long, I made up my 

 mind to find, if possible, some record of what had been done in this State, 

 in the way of purchasing commercial fertilizers. Going to the State 

 census, I found the amount of money spent in the different counties of 

 the State for commercial fertilizers, and have compared the amounts 

 expended in the years 1883 and 1893, as given by the State census for 

 1884 and 1894. (The upper line represents 1883, the lower 1893, in the 

 diagram.) And now the question is, is there- any difference between the 

 amount expended in 1883 and 1893. Was it more or less, and which was 

 it? 



Q: Didn't the prices have something to do with that? It don't pay 

 to put any money into a crop at present prices. 



Prof. Kedzie: No doubt that has much to do with it, but the times 

 were not so hard in 1893 as at present. 



Q: Does this include plaster? 



Prof. Kedzie: As near as I can find out from the census office it does 

 Include plaster, but before we get to discussing these side topics, I want 

 to ask: Is there any exception to this apparent decline in amount of 

 money spent for fertilizing in any county? Look at the chart of the coun- 

 ties represented — Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo. When we 

 reach this last county we find an increase in the amount of fertilizer used 

 In 1893 as compared with 1883. How shall we account for this? 



Mr. Morrill: They have found commercial fertilizers successful in cel- 

 ery growing. 



Prof. Kedzie: That is a special crop. Now I am considering the gen- 

 eral farmer. The special farmer, as Mr. Morrill suggests, the celery 

 grower, has tried commercial fertilizers and finds it pays. The general 

 farmer seems, from the census figures, to be in doubt, if not to have 

 largely abandoned their use. I am not absolutely certain whether plas- 

 ter is included in the census figures or not, but leave that out of the ques- 

 tion for the present; the diagram shows that the general farmer through- 



