FERTILIZERS. 75 



farmers ? If the percentage of real chemicals in sta])le manure be 

 so small as Lawes and Voelcker show, then why not use the former 

 and save the labor of shovelling and hauling the bulk and great 

 weight of the latter ? 



Mr, Wilder asked if we do not obtain better results from ferti- 

 lizers in wet seasons than in dry. 



Mr. Wetherell replied that we do, adding that the same is true 

 of stable manure. Farmers in Western Massachusetts had paid 

 fifteen dollars per cord and upwards for stable manure. 



Mr. Wilder remarked that the idea that we can anal3'ze crops and 

 manures and ascertain what are adapted to each other is sound in 

 principle, but does not always work well in practice. 



Dr. Sturtevant spoke of the danger of drawing general conclu- 

 sions from limited experiments. It does not follow from Mr. Lawes' 

 experiments that it would be proper to act upon his practice in 

 other cases. Hay takes up much water, and land which will not 

 give half a ton of hay may give sixty bushels of corn per acre. 

 The water supply is often as essential to be considered as the 

 dung supply. Lawes has found, but does not pretend to explain it, 

 that nitrate of soda increases the quantity of moisture in the soil. 



Mr. Fuller asked whether it produced that effect continuously for 

 several j^ears, and remarked that forcing was always a weakening 

 process. 



Dr. Sturtevant said that in twenty-six experimental crops, the 

 first twelve 3'ears averaged twenty -four bushels ; the second twelve 

 years showed an increase, with complete fertilizers. From a theo- 

 retical point of view we have exhausted some element. The pre- 

 judice against artificial fertilizers has come from the application of 

 special ingredients. Can a man afford to neglect insurance? When 

 we apply a complete fertilizer we are getting certainty, which may 

 be considered in the light of insurance. 



The Chairman announced that the subject would be continued 

 on the next Saturday. 



