236 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The husbandman comes, and after clearing the land of timber, brush, etc., plows 

 or digs up the soil, pulverizes it as much as possible preparatory to planting the 

 6e€d, the land being rich in plant food, it produces a bountiful crop, amply reward- 

 ing him for his labor. This being profitable as well as a necessity, he repeats the 

 planting, and removing the crop year after year, without giving the subject even a 

 passing thought that he was removing from the store of plant food contained in 

 the,6oil of his farm a given quantity of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, or 

 without returning to the soil the constituents of plant food in the way of manure,, 

 or other fertilizers. And if this constant drain is kept up without a return being 

 made to the soil, it is made poorer and poorer, until finally it will not produce' 

 enough to pay for the labor of cultivating it, and he must either do something to re- 

 store the land to fertility or abandon the farm. And in order to make the fields- 

 productive again, he must return to the soil the plant food of which it has been rob- 

 bed — by hauling manure, turning under clover and weeds, or other crops, or by 

 applying commercial fertilizers, such as phosphates, ground bone, etc. 



Now the question presents itself, a-s to how it is best to apply this commercial 

 fertilizer to obtain the best results, since it is quite expensive, and there being 

 nothing like enough manure produced on the farm to compensate for the amount 

 of plant food taken away with the grain, hay, and stock that is sold, it is therefore 

 important to get the full benefit of the fertilizer. Therefore let us examine what 

 this commercial fertilizer is composed of and how it is prepared, so as to be en- 

 abled to use it to the best advantage. 



The manuiacturer of fertilizers prepares his fertilizer to suit the soil and crop 

 for which it is designed, about as follows: If it is to be used on a clay or com- 

 pact soil, for wheat, clover, grass, or any slow-growing plant, he selects bone for 

 the phosphoric acid it contains. The clean, hard, dry bone is ground fine, the 

 coar&er particles carefully screened out, and this finely-ground bone is placed upon 

 the market as raw hone, to be used on wheat, clover, grass, shrubbery, fruit trees,, 

 lawns, etc.; or, if the soil be light or sandy, use only on a meadow or on wheat 

 after it is up, or any crop that has roots to take up the particles of bone and hold 

 them until they are dissolved by the action of the solvents contained in the soil,, 

 for a fertilizer is only plant food when in a solvent or dissolved state. The raw 

 bone, being hard and flinty, is not readily dissolved. It is therefore necessary to 

 hold it near the plant by some agency until it becomes solvent by the elements con- 

 tained in the earth, otherwise it may be washed away or leach through the soil 

 without giving the plant the nourishment it was designed to do. Therefore it is 

 better to applv the raw bone to plants that are already rooted, as the roots will 

 catch and ho!d the bone until dissolved. 



Bones that are not dry, or not fit to grind as raw bone, are put into an iron tank 

 and steamed under pressure until they become soft; they are then taken out, dried 

 and ground in the same manner as the raw bone, and placed on the market a» 

 " steamed bone," " bone meal," " dissolved bone," or '" bone dust," to be used and 

 applied the same as raw bone, except that it having been steamed, it is much softer 

 and a great deal more soluble than the raw bone, it acts much quicker, and in a. 

 porous or light soil gives decidedly better results. 



