FIFTEENTH CHAPTER. 



THE CONCENTRATED COMPLETE MANURES. 



/^UR modern system of cropping is taking the 

 plant foods from tlie soil much faster than we 

 are able to return them by the application of barn- 

 yard manure, hen droppings, muck or peat, and all 

 the other sources of fertility commonly within reach 

 of the average farmer. This observation, and the 

 recognized need of a greater supply of plant foods 

 have led to the search for other sources, to the impor- 

 tation of various substances suitable for this pur- 

 pose, and finally to the manufacture of our modern 

 so-called " concentrated commercial " fertilizers. 



There is as wide a difference between commercial 

 fertilizers as there is between sand and manure, or 

 between sugar and salt, or between a tender, juicy, 

 tenderloin steak and the sole of a old boot. Buy- 

 ing and applying concentrated fertilizers promiscu- 

 ously, without having the least idea what they con- 

 tain, or what the soil needs, is little better than 

 taking chances in a lottery. While full information 

 on all these points can be obtained so easily, by any 



