136 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



this end we are advised to begin the work with a timely, 

 thorough, mechanical preparation of the soil under cultiva- 

 tion ; to select the crops to be raised, as far as practicable, 

 with reference to their tendency of economizing existing 

 natural resources of plant-food ; to increase the latter to the 

 full extent of suitable home-made manure on hand, and to 

 supplement the latter liberally by buying commercial con- 

 centrated fodder articles and commercial fertilizer, as far 

 as circumstances advise. To discuss briefly some of the 

 means of developing and economizing manurial sources of 

 the farm, is one of the objects of this communication. On 

 the present occasion only two of those means will be dis- 

 cussed, which, although more or less at the disposition of 

 every farmer engaged in mixed farm management, quite 

 frequently do not receive that degree of consideration which 

 they deserve, namely : — 



1. A judicious selection and a liberal production of fodder 

 crops. 



2. An economical system of feeding farm live stock. 



1. Production and Selection of Fodder Crops. 



A careful inquiry into the history of agriculture, down to 

 the middle of the present century, has shown that the 

 original productiveness of farm lands in all civilized countries, 

 even in the most favored localities, has suffered in the 

 course of time a gradual decline. This general decline in 

 the fertility of the soil under cultivation has been ascribed, 

 with much propriety in the majority of instances, mainly to 

 two causes : namely, a gradual but serious reduction in the 

 area occupied by forage crops, natural pastures and meadows ; 

 and a marked decline in the annual yield of fodder upon 

 large tracts of land but ill suited for a permanent cultivation 

 of grasses, — the main reliance of fodder production at the 

 time. A serious falling off in the annual yield of pastures 

 and meadows was followed usually by a reduction in farm 

 live stock, which, in turn, caused a falling off in the princi- 

 pal home resource of manurial matter. This chapter in the 

 history of farm management has repeated itself m most 

 countries. The unsatisfactory results of that system of 



