66 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



times to keep the balance of trade in onr favor, and thus 

 relieve us from such difficulties in the future. 



I am very deeply interested in this matter which is under 

 discussion, and I hope that the various inquiries which have 

 been made by gentlemen present, will induce them to make 

 some experiments themselves. 



Mr. W. C. Strong, of Newton. I think we shall all agree 

 with Col. Wilder, that the essay presented by the Secretary 

 has been extremely interesting ; but if we leave the subject 

 just here, it seems to me we shall be left in doubt whether this 

 material is, after all, of practical value to the farmer. Mr. 

 Flint has told us that he would not recommend us to dissolve 

 this substance with sulphuric acid, but would rather leave us 

 to the tender mercies of the dealers. He has suggested an- 

 other method, which is, to mix this phosphate with ferment- 

 ing manure. Now, we may guess at results in that way ; we 

 may think that we have increased the value of stable-manure 

 by the addition of this material, but to just what extent it has 

 increased the value, or whether it is economical or not, it will 

 be very hard for the ordinary farmer to say. I want to ask 

 Mr. Flint a question or two. He has told us that large quan- 

 tities of those phosphates have been sent to Baltimore, and 

 that large quantities have been sent to England. I want to 

 ask him whether there have been any actual tests made to see 

 what the results are. Col. Wilder has alluded to their use in 

 the cotton-fields of the South. I must, for one, confess that 

 I have not been aware of the use of this material, or what 

 results have followed. 



Mr. Flint. I did not mean to imply that I would discour- 

 age the use of this article. I believe in the use of artificial 

 fertilizers. I believe in the use of concentrated fertilizers; 

 but those who make a specialty of the manufacture of these 

 articles can manipulate them more perfectly, more economi- 

 cally and to a better purpose, than the common farmer can ; 

 so that my idea is, that if a farmer wants to get a substance 

 that will act immediately, it would be better for him to pay 

 $37, $45, $50, or even $60 a ton, if ho can get a nice article, 

 than to attempt to manufacture the article himself, where he 

 cannot be sure of the composition, where it must be a matter 

 of experiment. A substance may be cheap and economical for 



