NITRATES AND PHOSPHATES. 21 



and circumstances render such a practice neces- 

 sary. The old plan of relying on the resources 

 of the farm by depending on the manure made 

 upon it, while the corn and meat were sold 

 away, will not answer now. Commerce and 

 mercantile enterprise have provided other means 

 for maintaining fertility at a cheaper cost, and 

 in a more commodious and portable form. One 

 cwt. of nitrate of soda will give a more certain 

 return of corn than fifty times its weight in 

 farm-yard manure, and can be carried to and 

 spread upon the ground at one-fiftieth of the 

 labour. The proof of this, in Mr. Lawes' ex- Great 



value to 



periments, has been before the country for more British 



agriculture 



than thirty years, and yet it is only beginning ofMr.^ 

 to be generally recognised. periments. 



To Mr. J. B. Lawes the agriculture of this 

 country is deeply indebted. For thirty-three 

 years he has conducted, at his own cost, a series 

 of experiments on his estate in Hertfordshire, 

 the results of which have been annually pub- 

 lished, and the farm itself, with every detail 

 of the work, has been laid open to public in- 

 spection and criticism. Among other valuable 



