50 



npdii till' crops to wiiicli tlu-y wcrr ;ipi>Ii<'<l- 'I'liis led iintiirally to au ex- 

 amination also of the soils for tlic imrpose of determining their needs in 

 fertilizin.i;- materials. The result of all this is that the farmer at the 

 present day is enabled not only to purchase his fertilizers in a fair and 

 honest market, but also to have them so balanced in respect of the plant 

 food they contain as to give the most economic results in the crops. If 

 the farmer of Indiana at the present day adds phosphoric acid, nitrogen 

 or potash to the soil when it is not needed, he simply does so because he 

 does not take advantage of the facilities which the State affords him of 

 learning the true method of fertilizing his farm. Thus the coutribiitions 

 which chemistry has made Avith the assistance of the sister science of 

 geology, and through the medium of the Board of Health to the welfare 

 of our people have been vastly increased by its solution of some of the 

 agricultural problems which confront us. "With this aid and the effoi'ts 

 of agricultural chemistry the exhaustion of the virgin soils of our State, 

 which are among the most fertile of our country, has been checked, and 

 a start has been made on the up-grade toward the restoration of that 

 fertility wliich our early settlers found. It would have been glory enough 

 to liave cliccked the deterioration of our soils, but it is an additional glory 

 to our science when it has commenced to Iniild them up again. AVe can 

 consistcMitly look forward to the near future when fields and farms which 

 liaxc Ix'cn iiraetically abandoned l)y reason of exhausted fertility will ))e 

 again brouglit into cultivation and made to produce al)un(laiit .•ind profit- 

 able croijs. The investigations wliicli chemistry has made have also 

 sliown to a large extent, how our agricultural crops could be distributed 

 witli tlie greatest advantage. In this respect chemistry collaborates with 

 her sister science, botany, which study I have already referred to. As 

 a marked illustration are seen the investigations which have pointed out 

 tlie fact that the beet sugar mdustry in Indiana could only prove profit- 

 alile in its northern part and that it would be economic waste to try to 

 establish it, for instance, in the southern third of our State. Similar 

 studies in connection witli liotanical science Avill aid in marking the areas 

 most suitable for other agricultural crops, such as Indian corn, tobac- 

 co, etc. 



As a liiial result of all these scientific investigations, the f.-irmers of 

 our Stat3 will eventually giow only those agricultural crops winch are 

 best suited to the environment and therefoi-e most profit al)le. Tlius agri- 

 culture Avill be made more productive and profital>le l\v such specializa- 



