Canada, barnyard manure in conjunction with a judicious rotation, 

 was the most economical and effective material for increasing crop 

 yields and the upkeep of soil fertility. There is no substitute for 

 farm manures, but there are cultural systems in which these may be 

 supplemented by commercial fertilizers with profit. Methods of 

 "intensive" farming call especially for large amounts of immediately 

 available plant food, and these can best be supplied by the use of 

 those more or less soluble compounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

 and potash found on the market as nitrate of soda, superphosphate, 

 muriate of potash, etc. In orcharding and market gardening more 

 particularly, fertilizers, in addition to stable manures, have been 

 found profitable and there is little doubt but that their use will 

 steadily increase in districts devoted to the more intensive forms of 

 agriculture. 



It has been found that the most important material making 

 for soil fertility is humus. Increasing the decayed or rotten vegetable 



The junior shepherd with his flock. 



matter in the soil is worth infinitely more than adding any amount 

 of commercial fertilizer, or of plant food in the form of mixed fer- 

 tilizer. Getting this humus into the soil and following a suitable 

 rotation are the most important considerations. For instance, 

 a three-year rotation leaves a fine clover sod to turn under when 

 it is in its very best form. Experiments at the Central Experi- 

 mental Farm during the last few years have demonstrated that 

 such clover sod is worth from $10 to $12 per acre to the crop fol- 

 lowing it. If in addition to this clover there can be added a con- 

 siderable amount of barnyard manure, then we have very nearly 

 ideal conditions. The application of barnyard manure at short 



