NATUEE INVESTIGATED. 77 



perhaps we might not be. We were now ready to go abroad, 

 and ask the question in the open field. 



Now, gentlemen, some of you may think that I was very 

 foolish, but this is the question I put to nature: "Having 

 understood you to tell me that nitrogen, potash and phos- 

 phoric acid will produce plants, if I mix nitrogen, potash and 

 phosphoric acid in an absolutely solvent form, and if I give 

 those materials to you, can you make me plants or crops just 

 in proportion to the quantity I give you?" That was the 

 question I proposed. Another question was, "If I give you 

 the materials to make twenty-five bushels of corn, and its 

 natural proportion of stalks, can you take the materials and 

 return me twenty-five bushels of corn, and the stalks which 

 are supposed to be its natural proportion?" That was the 

 other question, — a very foolish one, perhaps ; but we were 

 bound to ask it, to see what nature would say. This began 

 in the year 1873, and, if you do not object, I will tell you 

 the results of the experiments with corn in 1873 and 1874. 

 The experiments were tried with corn, with wheat, with rye, 

 with oats, with potatoes, with tobacco and with grass. We 

 commenced with corn ; and I wish to show where we made a 

 mistake, and what was the result of that mistake. After 

 having got the materials ready, this question came up : "Now, 

 I commit to the bosom of the earth, nitrogen, potash and 

 phosphoric acid enough to make so many bushels of corn. 

 It cannot be possible that the plants will get all those 

 materials this year. Some of them will be left scattered 

 around in the soil ; that the plants will not get ; and I shall 

 make a failure of it, of course. Therefore, if I want, in my 

 first experiment, to get twenty-five bushels of corn, I must 

 put in more materials than are needed, and the extra amount 

 of materials I must charge to the land for its improvement." 



It was a great mistake ; but I did it. I said, "The plants 

 cannot take all the materials, and I will add one-third more 

 than I want, to get twenty-five bushels of corn (if that was 

 the quantity), and I will charge it over to the land." 



In the spring of 1873 we selected, upon one side of the 

 large cornfield upon the farm, a piece of land ; on the other 

 side of it was a field of potatoes. The cornfield was heavily 

 manured, the farmer said, with six cords- of manure to the 



