45 



cles is determined by the price at which it can 

 be delivered in our markets from foreign coun- 

 tries, rather than by what it is worth to export 

 to foreign markets, the American farmer is sure 

 of getting full compensation for his labor. And 

 in this connection let me say that it seems strat ge 

 that we have so long let the foreign seed-grow- 

 ers s ipply us with such a large proportion of the 

 vast aggregate amount of field, vegetable and 

 flower seeds which we annually use in this coun- 

 try. Depend upon it, in the near future we 

 shall grow our own seeds. 



As 1 have said before, the agricultural outlook 

 in America is an inviting and prosperous one. 

 There is plenty of work to be done. We own 

 our own farms. We are surrounded by an active, 

 energetic and intelligent business, commercial, 

 and manufacturing people. And our own pros- 

 perity will be in proportion to the energy, skill 

 and intelligence we put into our work. We shall 

 not confine ourselves to raising wheat and corn, 

 pork and beef. Many will do this. But others 

 will raise products which require more capital 

 and skill, and afford larger profits. 



Our first object must be to make our farms 

 cleaner and richer. Draining when necessary, 

 and thorough cultivation, especially on the 

 heavier soils, are the first steps. The real source 

 of fertilizing matter is the soil. Draining nnd 

 cultivation render a portion of the plant-food, 

 which lies dormant in the soil, available. Mr. 

 Lawes has raised 15 bushels of wheat every year, 

 for over thirty years, without manure, the grain 

 and straw being all removed. In other words, on 

 his heavy lands, cultivation renders enough 

 plant-food available every year for 15 bushels of 

 wheat and straw. This is the normal yield of his 

 soil. On lighter and poorer soils, the normal, 

 annual supply of plant-food would not be so 

 much, and on richer alluvial soils it is often 

 much greater. But whatever the exact amount, 

 it is evident that this annual supply is the real 

 manurial income of the farm. Our object must 

 be to use this annual income to the best advan- 

 tage. If we sell all our crops we live up to our 

 income, and the larm gets no richer. And if we 

 lose any by leaching or evaporation the soil be- 

 comes to that extent poorer. If we retain half 

 the crop at home on the farm, and use it judic- 

 iously, we add so much to our manurial capital. 

 Many of our farmers sow land to wheat and 

 seed it down with clover. They then plow under 

 the clover and saw wheat again. In this way 

 they raise a crop of wheat every other year, and, 

 theoretically, it the normal yield, or the annual 

 supply of plant-food, is equal to 15 bushels of 

 wheat per acre, the yield, iu such a case, every 

 other year should be 30 bushels per acre. You 

 get no more wheat iu one case than iu the other, 

 and the only advantage is the saving in seed and 

 in the labor of preparing for and harvesting the 

 crop. I admit that these are very great advan- 

 tages. Summer fallowing on some soils would 

 have equal advantages. But I have not time tc 

 dwell on this part of the subject. I have said 

 that theoretically, if the normal yield of a soil is 

 15 bushels per acre, if we plow under a year's 

 growth of clover we ought to get 30 bushels, be- 

 cause we have two year's supply of plant-food 

 in the soil. There is a principle, however, which 

 interferes with this result. The soil is very con- 

 servative. It is not easy to get out of it all. we 

 put into it. A dressing of farm-yard manure or 

 a crop of clover plowed under, is not by any 

 means taken up by the growing plants in a sin- 

 pie season. In heavy soils, especially, decompo 

 sition proceeds very slowly, and it may be sev 

 era! years before all the plant-food supplied bj 

 a crop of clover is given up to the plants. Stii 

 the laot remains tuat when we plow under a 

 year's growth of clover we have accumulated in 

 the soil an extra quantity of plant-food equal ti 

 the annual supply rendered available by the 



rocesses of agriculture and the decomposing 

 nd disintegrating action of sun and air, heat 

 nd cold. And it i* this fact that lies at the basis 

 f all judicious rotations of crops. I cannot but 

 eel that we are on the eve of many important 

 liscoveries which will enable us to add greatly 



the yield of our crops and the profits of our 

 arming. 



We have learned how to make a sheep produce 



as much mutton from one year's feed, as was 



btained from three or four year's feed less than 



a century ago. We shall learn how to get out 



f our farm-yard manure all, or nearly all, its 



aluable plant-food in a single year, if we so 



wish, and consequently be able to raise a much 



arger crop. We shall have the matter more 



under control. 



We plow under a crop of clover for wheat, and 

 n this way get two year's supply of plant-food 

 for the wheat. We ought to double our crop of 

 wheat. We ought to get as much wheat from 

 the one crop every other year as from two crops 

 of wheat grown successively on the same land. 

 The advantage of the plan, as I have said, is in 

 saving the seed for one crop and the labor of 

 putting in the crop and cutting it. 



But I feel sure that growing a crop and plow- 

 ng it under, merely to enrich another crop, ia 

 not always the most economical plan. It is good 

 as far as it goes. It is far better than growing 

 grain crops year after year on the same land, 



But there is a better way. There is much nu- 

 triment in the clover, and this nutriment can be 

 taken from the clover and still leave nearly all 

 the elements of plant-food in the excrements of 

 the animals that have eaten the clover. And 

 what is true of clover is true of all other food. 

 Bran is sometimes used for manure, and so are 

 malt-roots, and a few years ago some of the 

 Connecticut tobacco-growers used corn meal as 

 manure. Now if a sheep only takes out from 5 

 to 10 per cent, of nitrogen, and a still less pro- 

 portion of phosphoric acid, potash and other 

 valuable elements of manure from the food, and 

 if these elements are left in a more available 

 condition in the manure than in the food itself, 



1 think we shall be able to make a profit in feed- 

 ing the clover and other food to sheep, rather 

 than to plow it under merely for manure. I am 

 well aware that when we feed a ton of clover, 

 containing 100 Ibs. of nitrogen, to sheep, we do 

 not always get back 90 to 95 Ibs. of nitrogen in 

 the manure. A careless farmer might lose halt 

 the value of the manure by leaching. But there 

 is no necessity for this. The elements are in the 

 manure when it leaves the animal, and we shall 

 learn how to preserve them, and I feel sure we 

 shall soon learn how to make them more imme- 

 diately available to our crops. How to get out 

 of our soil more of the large amount of dormant 

 elements of plant-food which it contains, and 

 then when we have got these elements, how best 

 to use them and save them should be the great 

 aim of scientific and practical agriculturists. I 

 know of no better plan than the one I have sug- 

 gested : 



1st. Draining and thorough cultivation. These 

 operations, by letting in the air and sun, decom- 

 pose and disintegrate the organic and iuorganio 

 elements of plant-food. 



2d. To grow such crops as will take up the lar- 

 gest proportion of this plant-food from the soil 

 and subsoil. Clover, on many soils, is one of the 

 best plants for this purpose. Peas and beans, in 

 favorable latitudes, are also good. Grass and 

 oats are less valuable for the purpose, but still 

 useful, and our grand, national cereal, Indian 

 corn, can be used with immense advantage. But 

 we have much to learn in regard to the peculiar 

 requirements and uses of this magnificent crop. 



3d. After we have taken up and organized into 

 useful, nutritious food the annual supply of 

 plant-food furnished by the soil, we have to 



