138 Commercial Gardening 



If they had not tilled the ground deeply the gold would not have been 

 forthcoming in any shape or form. 



This story conveys an excellent moral for all cultivators, and it 

 embodies the true principles of manuring principles that are strictly in 

 accordance with all we have learned about the composition of soils and 

 manures from the best scientific authorities. 



Experiments at Rothamsted and elsewhere clearly prove that the soil 

 does contain vast supplies of some of the most important plant foods, such 

 as nitrogen, phosphates, potash, lime, magnesia, soda, iron, chlorine, silica, 

 &c. But what none of these experiments teach is that these foods can 

 be liberated and made available for the use of our various crops by cul- 

 tivation or " handworking '' the soil. 



After all, it must be remembered that the agricultural chemist is not 

 a cultivator, although he may deduce from the chemical analysis of a 

 certain soil, or a certain plant, that such and such foods are required, 

 and that it is only necessary to supply them by means of some artificial 

 manure, and the plant will proceed to carry out its functions, and be 

 perfectly happy ever after. 



If this were really the case, the art of manuring would be reduced to 

 the simplest mechanical process. A certain soil is found by analysis to be 

 lacking or deficient in one or more foods that we know to be essential for 

 the welfare of a certain crop. Therefore sprinkle over the soil or dig it 

 in a manure which is known to contain the necessary foods, and all will 

 be well at least it was thought so at first by Liebig and others. The 

 quantity of special fertilizer must be carefully regulated, otherwise the 

 plants, instead of growing, will probably die. Indeed the difficulty as 

 to regulating the quantities to be applied has only been overcome by 

 frequent experiment, and after plants had been killed by overdoses. 



This is practically the basis upon which modern manuring is practised. 

 Either the soil is dosed with special manures, or certain crops are given 

 special manures, almost irrespective as to their growth, or as to the nature 

 and condition of the soil in which they are growing. 



If these principles of manuring were sound, our cereal and root crops 

 ought to show a vast increase in yield and quality since farmers have 

 taken to using artificial fertilizers in such large quantities. But our 

 crops of wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, turnips, beet, mangels, Swedes, 

 &c., appear to be no greater on the average per acre now than they have 

 ever been. Here and there, of course, are to be found exceptions that 

 prove the truth of the statement, but it will generally be found that these 

 exceptions are due more to good cultivation to the working, and cleansing, 

 and purifying of the soil than to the extensive use of artificial fertilizers. 



This view receives confirmation from Prof. Snyder, of the University of 

 Minnesota, in his book on Soils and Fertilizers. He says: "Scant crops 

 are as frequently due to the want of proper tillage as to the absence of 

 plant food. Poor cultivation results in getting the soil out of condition; 

 then instead of thoroughly preparing the land, commercial fertilizers are 



