18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



because the percentage of potash it contains can be depended 

 upon, and the amount to be applied can be determined ac- 

 cording to the requirements of soil and crop. It is con- 

 venient in form for use wherever potash is used for all 

 kinds of crops. 



Nitrogenous manures are chiefly of animal origin. One 

 of the most important to the farmer is fine-ground sun-dried 

 fish. It contains about eight per cent of high-grade nitro- 

 gen, and six per cent of phosphoric acid. Convenient in 

 form for use, it is a valuable fertilizer. 



Lime is the leading element in the composition of the 

 leaves, fiber and wood of a large number of varieties of trees 

 and plants in cultivation, as appears in their analysis. A 

 good supply of lime in the soil promotes a healthful growth 

 of foliage, and contributes to the pleasing, glossy appear- 

 ance of the leaves of many trees and plants in cultivation. 

 The ashes of most kinds of wood contain thirty-seven to 

 seventy-three per cent of lime. All textile plants, turnips 

 and some other vegetables, and all varieties of clover, con- 

 tain a large percentage of lime. The experience and obser- 

 vation of twenty years has taught me that lime is a leading 

 element of plant food, and is essential to the healthful growth 

 of several important cultivated crops. Without health, man, 

 plants or animals cannot reasonably be expected to con- 

 tribute their best in the sharp competition that characterizes 

 this age of progress. 



In support of my statement as to the importance of lime, 

 the following facts are given. The average of eight analyses 

 of leaf tobacco, furnished by Professor Johnson of Connecti- 

 cut, is of interest to tobacco growers. The dry leaf when 

 burned produced twenty-five per cent of ash, which would 

 make five hundred pounds of ash from two thousand pounds 

 of leaf. 



Three elements, potash, lime and carbonic acid, compose 

 sixty-eight per cent of the ash elements. The remaining 



