144 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



You may sometimes benefit the soil b}^ reducing its chemical ele- 

 ments, as when you mix carefully sand with clay ; and clay, merely 

 by calcination and separation, becomes energetic and productive. 



In cultivated grounds, if we know what crops have been last 

 removed and what manures have been added, we can generally 

 tell what to apply. We must study well the natural characteristics 

 of the soil, and learn its composition, and find its wants. He did 

 not make these remarks in opposition to chemical fertilizers, for 

 he believed in them ; they will, if appropriately used, provide what 

 we need and cannot otherwise obtain. 



William H. Bowker said that he wrote to Prof. Stockbridge to 

 enquire about the patent, and read the following extract from his 

 reply : 



"Amherst, March 31, 1876. 



W. H. Bowker: 



Dear Sir, — * * * UnUi within the last four months the 

 thought of getting a patent never occurred to me. My only thought 

 was that if these things were absolute facts it would, in the matter 

 of artificial fertilizers, make the practical farmer independent of 

 the manufacturer and commercial dealer. He would be able to 

 purchase the substances and compound them by the formulas which 

 I had published, or given freely to every one who asked for them. 

 It was only when it was fully developed that farmers generally 

 would not pursue that course, but wanted the formulas compounded 

 ready for use, and that a score of individuals in different sections 

 were intending this year to engage in the manufacture and sale of 

 fertilizers by the Stockbridge formulas, that I felt it my duty (as 

 it was undoubtedly ni}^ light) to interfere, and by a patent retain 

 control of the matter for my own credit and the interest of the 

 great mass of farmers. 



Now what is the patent ? An examiner in the Patent Office pre- 

 pared it for me, and in the manuscript he wrote 'manufacture, sale, 

 and use.' On reading it over I told him I did not wish to patent 

 the use — that should be left free. He took his pen and struck out 

 the word use. The document went through the necessary stages 

 in the office, and the patent Avas granted. When, however, I re- 

 ceived the ' Letters Patent ' I found it was headed in the set printed 

 form of the office and the word use was in it, and though I did not 

 want it, my patent is for the ' manufacture, sale, and use.' But I 

 declare that the use of these formulas is and shall be as free to the 



