FARM EXPERIMENTS AT LAKESIDE. 121 



the strong and against the weak among plants, as 

 well as among men and animals. 



I regret that there are many perhaps well-mean- 

 ing but poorly informed writers in our agricultural 

 papers, and speakers at agricultural meetings, who 

 make statements and give expression to views 

 which tend directly to lead farmers astray, and to 

 confuse and perplex them upon the subject of fer- 

 tilizers, greatly to their detriment. And unfortu- 

 nately these absurd and erroneous statements and 

 strange exhibitions of selfishness connected with 

 agricultural matters are not confined to those who 

 are ignorant ; we have had some sad examples 

 from the opposite class. It is only about a year 

 since that a gentleman intimately connected with 

 the interests of agriculture delivered and published 

 an address upon special fertilizers, in which he de- 

 liberately advises farmers to abstain from any at- 

 tempts to prepare their own superphosphate, assur- 

 ing them that they cannot successfully accomplish 

 the work. In another part of the same address he 

 informs them that he himself is engaged in the 

 manufacture of superphosphate upon a large scale, 

 and the inference is, that farmers should buy his 

 honest products. As we looked through this ad- 

 dress, or advertising circular, we could not help 

 exclaiming, " Alas ! upon whom can the farmer 

 depend? If interest and avarice confront him, 



