16 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



Eastern farmers should feel encouraged at the prospect of 

 competing with their Western friends on more even terms in 

 the near future. 



The introduction of commercial fertilizers dates from the 

 first importation of Peruvian guano into this country. This 

 article was in convenient form to handle, ready for immedi- 

 ate application, and, when properly applied, was wonder- 

 fully efiective in its action. It was at first experimented 

 with in a small way, but not used very largely until about 

 thirty-two years ago. In the years 1857 and 1858 I used it 

 on a tobacco field of five acres, which had been highly ma- 

 nured in previous years, and found it produced astonishing 

 results ; and particularly in 1858, it produced the greatest 

 growth of tobacco I have ever seen. This was the common 

 experience of farmers who used it at that time. 



A few years later, the supply of Chincha Island guano was 

 exhausted ; and, owing to the inferior quality of other guanos 

 afterwards introduced, guano lost its place in public favor, 

 and fell into gradual disuse. 



About twenty-five years ago, Mr. Ljnnan Klapp, agent 

 of the Union Oil Company of Providence, R.I., bought a 

 twenty-four-acre tract of plain land in Hatfield. He em- 

 ployed a superintendent to till this land, and sent up the 

 waste products of his mill as a fertilizer. This waste con- 

 sisted of slightly damaged cotton-seed meal, cotton-seed 

 hulls, and cotton-hull ashes, and these were the only fertil- 

 izers used. 



One person at least carefully watched this new departure, 

 and noted the crops that were grown. These crops, con- 

 sisting of corn, rye, grass, onions and tobacco, were all ex- 

 cellent ; and the quality, particularly of the tobacco grown in 

 1867 and 1868, was equal to the best I saw grown in those 

 years. 



In the year following, this land came into my possession, 

 and experiments with fertilizers have been continued down 

 to the present time. In the year 1873 I applied a good 

 coating of green manure to four acres of the lightest part of 

 this land, that had been run for several years without manures 

 or fertilizers. I also applied two tons per acre of damaged 

 cotton-seed meal, which cost thirteen dollars per ton, de- 



