50 



upon the crops to which thoy wore npplicd. This led naturally to an ex- 

 amination also of the soils for the purpose of determining their needs in 

 fertilizing 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 the}' 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 contributions 

 which chemistry has made with 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 efforts 

 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 Avhich our early settlers found. It would have been glory enough 

 to have checked the deterioration of ovu- soils, but it is an additional glory 

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

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

 have been practically abandoned by reason of exhausted fertility will be 

 again brought into cultivation and made to produce abundant and profit- 

 able crops. The investigations which chemistry has made have also 

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

 with the 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 

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

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

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

 studies in connection with liotanical science will aid in marking the areas 

 most suitable for other agricultural crops, such as Indian coi'n, tobac- 

 co, etc. 



As a final result of all these scientific investigations, the farmers of 

 our State will eventually grow only those agricultural crops which are 

 best suited to the environment and therefore most prodlable. Tluis agri- 

 culture will be made more productive and profitaljle l>y such specializa- 



