DISADVANTAGES OF CURING BY DESICCATION. 13 



phoric acid, and potash. The trouble with this is, that 

 no one can tell except by a series of careful experiments 

 whether one, two, or all three of these elements must be 

 applied to the land in order to raise a satisfactory crop. 

 Having ascertained that a certain crop can be raised 

 upon a certain piece of land by applying 1 one, two, or all 

 three of the above-named elements of fertility ; another 

 set of equally careful experiments must be tried when- 

 ever a different crop is attempted upon the same land, 

 or the same crop upon another piece of land. 



This necessitates the farmers' trying all these experi- 

 ments upon their own land ; which is out of the question, 

 for while they might, they certainly will not do it. 



Therefore commercial fertilizers will perforce have to 

 be applied in the future as in the past, mostly at random. 



I do not wish to be understood as saying that com- 

 mercial fertilizers are not valuable and useful in their 

 place ; which place is not to take the place of barn-cellar 

 manure, but as an economical adjunct to it in the hill 

 and drill. 



The chief objection to depending in the main upon 

 them is, that in the majority of cases the fertilizer costs 

 more than the crop will bring. 



No great agricultural prosperity can come through the 

 increased use of commercial fertilizers, except as aids to 

 barnyard manure. 



Experiments in England have demonstrated that the 

 crop does not increase in proportion to the amount of 

 fertilizers applied, even when the most consummate skill 

 directs the operations. 



While agriculture has not been benefited to the extent 

 hoped for by the processes mentioned above, there was 

 one man who was patiently experimenting, and endeavor- 

 ing to solve the problem in an entirely different way. 



