8 



Nitric Acid and Ammonia ? If not, whence comes 

 that lavish profusion of Ihese compounds discovered 

 by the chemists ? 



"The Rhine," says Professor Johnson, " daily re- 

 moves from the country supplying its waters an 

 amount of Nitric Acid equivalent to 220 tons of Salt- 

 peter. The Seine carries daily into the Atlantic 270 

 tons, and the Nile pours 1,100 tons into the Mediter- 

 ranean every twenty-four hours.'' How Crops Feed, 

 p. 270. 



Here is a waste of this element, which is incom- 

 prehensible, if we have no means to save it. Only 

 three rivers carry away as much Nitrogen every year, 

 as there is in 174 million bushels of wheat or Indian 

 corn ! 



Our farms are in the same condition as the lands 

 drained by those streams. 



The annual rains percolate the soil, dissolve the 

 Nitrates, and bear them off to enrich the waters of 

 distant oceans. But all is right. There is a way to 

 save these golden treasures, if we have the wisdom 

 and the will to do it. 



Phosphoric Acid, when needed on the farm, can 

 always be obtained irom bone, either ground fine, or 

 as super-phosphate of lime. 



Potash, according to the researches of Mr. Lawes, 

 "is generally found in sufficient quantities in the 

 soils and the artificial supply is not required." 



But notwithstanding this fact, we should use all 

 the wood-ashes we can procure at a reasonable price, 

 particularly on sandy lands, for potash is often great- 

 ly needed on that kind of soil. 



In 1S75, I compiled a table showing the amount 



