82 Report of the Acting Director and Chemist op the 



Table Showing Approximate Composition of Solid and Liquid 



Manures. 



Table Showing Approximate Composition op Mixed Stable 



Manure. 



XI. The Purchase and Use of Fertilizers. 



One of the questions, most commonly addressed to us by farmers 

 seeking information, is, " What fertilizer will give me the best 

 results for this or that crop ? " It is, of course, impossible to give 

 any definite answer to such a general question involving, as it does, 

 so many different conditions, none of which is clearly known. The 

 composition and physical properties of the soil, the extent and man- 

 ner in which it has been previously cropped and fertilized, the kind 

 of crop one wishes to grow, all these conditions need to be known 

 and, even then, it will require some special experimenting on the 

 part of the farmer to determine what forms and amounts of fer- 

 tilizers he can use most economically. The present almost universal 

 method employed by farmers in this State in selecting fertilizers is 

 to select some brand of complete fertilizer that has been recom- 

 mended to him by some neighbor or dealer. He has no clear ideas 

 regarding the condition of his soil, and the needs of different crops. 

 He thinks that he must have more fertilizer in order to secure better 

 crops and he buys blindly. Under such circumstances, it is safest, 

 as a rule, for a farmer to select a complete fertilizer. However, in 

 so doing, he may be throwing money away by purchasing what his 



