MILK FARMING. 291 



nitrate of soda. Last year, where we used Canada ashes 

 and nitrate of soda, it was on ground which had been mov/cd 

 the previous year. I should say that the previous year was 

 the first year of mowing after we had had ensilage on the 

 field. We planted Southern white corn, which grew enor- 

 mously, but the grass crop the succeeding year disappointed 

 us ; we did not get as good returns as we "expected. We 

 supposed it was because of the heavy draft the corn made 

 upon the soil. Bat this last year we applied, after our 

 manure was exhausted, about thirty-five bushels of Canada 

 ashes and a hundred pounds of nitrate of soda to the acre, 

 and the first crop, I think, was as much as three tons to the 

 acre and two tons the second. I do not know but it was 

 equally good as where we put on fifteen heavy loads of 

 manure to the acre. I think it was. 



Question. What will be your chance for the next crop? 



Mr. Smith. I think it will be first-rate, because we top- 

 dressed it this fall with manure. 



jNIr. Fitch. I was exceedingly glad when I saw the sub- 

 ject that was announced for yesterday afternoon's lecture, 

 and, lest I mistake, I will just read it, — " Business Side of 

 Farmino; and Value of Ors-anization." It seemed to me that 

 the lecturer handled the business side of farming very well, 

 in general. Now, the question comes, what about the 

 business side of farming? Plow much does it mean? How 

 much did he make it mean? He made it moan, I think, a 

 little more than this Board, that I am now addressing, has 

 made it mean for the last fifteen or twenty years. If you 

 will take the reports of this Board for the last fifteen or 

 twenty years and read them through, you will find this 

 statement to be true in respect to every one of them, with- 

 out a single exception. You will find that they are occupied 

 with telling how to feed hens ; with telling how to feed 

 cattle ; with telling how to improve the breeds of cattle ; 

 with telling how to build a silo ; how much corn to feed ; 

 how much cotton-seed meal to feed ; exactly how many 

 ounces of ensilage and how many ounces of this, that and 

 the other ; how much manurial value there is in different 

 articles of food, and so on. You have not said one single 

 word about the business matter of disposing of the products 



