No. 4.] EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN. 181 



of bringing the soil into a clammy condition, and the potash 

 no longer gave the increase in the corn crop that we had 

 been getting. We had been getting 40 to 50 bushels to the 

 acre, where we used potash and nothing else. The ^'-ear 

 before lime was put on, the yield was 18 bushels to the acre, 

 and the yield where we used nitrate of soda and potash was 

 even worse than where potash alone was used. I suspected 

 the cause, which is deficiency of lime. The continued use 

 of muriate of potash causes a loss of lime in the water which 

 soaks into the soil ; and if you use muriate of potash it will 

 in most cases be necessary, once in I think from fi^ve to seven 

 years, to give the land a heavy application of lime. If you 

 use sulphate of potash, the necessity of putting on lime will 

 be less. I don't know yet whether it will be entirely 

 unnecessary ; I think an occasional application may be 

 necessary. 



The Chair. Mr. W. C. Jewett has been asked to preside 

 at this afternoon session. 



Mr. Jewett. I think we all realize that the tillers of 

 the soil have no greater friend than the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture. I think we have all been sur- 

 prised, but pleased, to see the great advance it has made in 

 all lines of agriculture. We members of the grange realize 

 now what we have been striving for for so many years ; and 

 one writing up the history of agriculture should give our 

 national grange the credit of having first conceived the idea 

 resulting in the present Department of Agriculture. 



I have great pleasure in introducing to you the assistant 

 secretar}^ of the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Hon. J. H. Brigham, who will tell us about its work. 



