No. 4.] COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 125 



are niiturally jmh)!', and uvvd building up in all directions; 

 they are deficient in the mineral elements; they lack vege- 

 table matter, humus and nitrogen, and are poor in physical 

 character; thoy need to be supplied with a sufficient total 

 quantity of plant food, as well as with such amendments as 

 will enable improving crops to be grown. It is quite evident 

 that, for such conditions, in the selection of fertilizers for 

 the growing of crops of any kind, the kind of soil or its 

 original character should be a very safe guide as to the sup- 

 plies. In extensive general famuing, in grain farming, or 

 in extensive practice of any kind, we should be guided by 

 the character of the soil, but only up to a certain point. 

 It may be safely assumed that light sandy soils are all de- 

 ficient in mineral elements. That is, the total supply is not 

 sufficient, and in order that these soils may be made fruitful, 

 an abundance of all materials is needed. For those naturally 

 rich in fertility, as the clay loams of various degrees, we 

 need more particularly phosphates and nitrogenous materials. 

 Peaty soils, very rich in vegetable matter, are chiefly de- 

 ficient in the minerals, including lime, and any treatment or 

 fertilization v^dli(•h did not take this fact into consideration 

 would pro])ably not be a profitable method. 



Furthermore, soils that have been depleted in their vege- 

 table matter, or soils that are naturally poor, ordinarily do 

 not possess a good physical character. They are too hard or 

 too dry, too wet or too compact, or too loose, and fertilizers 

 applied do not have their full effect, because, in the first 

 place, they are not readily distributed throughout the soil, 

 or are distributed too rapidly; or, in the second place, there 

 is danger of loss, more particularly of the nitrogen applied, 

 — the most expensive element. Therefore, to ensure the best 

 returns from the application of commercial fertilizers the 

 soils must first be improved by natural methods. 



Farmers, therefore, who buy expensive fertilizer materials 

 for the growth of cheap crops will not find it profitable to do 

 so on soils of this character. It is not only a question of a 

 fertilizer, but a question of a desirable place to put i^, that 

 measures in large degree the usefulness of its application. 

 These points are of the greatest importance if we are to use 



