RATIONAL FERTILIZATION. 





^..:\o 



manure as we think will pay, but we have not 3'et Iea1%^/^}*11^^ "^^ 

 the efTect of over-dosing ; we do not know how much organiS ma^t- 

 ter may be produced by manure. In some of his experiments he 

 had found that lime accumulates in the diseased parts of trees and 

 potash is deficient. He thinks that many of the diseases of plants 

 may be due to excess of undecomposed vegetable matter or barn- 

 yard manure in the soil. Fifteen or twenty 3'ears ago we might 

 have rolled our seed in fertilizer without injury, but now we can- 

 not because the fertilizers are more concentrated. 



Mr. Hersey said in regard to over supply of manure that he 

 had found that some plants would bear it and others would not. 

 In order to get enough potash for potatoes from barnyard 

 manure you must apply more nitrogen than is needed, and the 

 over supply of nitrogen may be injurious. Asparagus does not 

 seem to be injured by an over supply of manure ; he had applied 

 at the rate of seventy-five cords per acre for successive years. 



Professor Goesmann said that agriculturists well know that 

 crops do better for rotation. The natural tendency of rain is to 

 carr}' down the plant food in the soil. This is one reason why an 

 alternation of shallow rooting crops like grain and deep rooting 

 crops like clover and lucerne is recommended. All soluble fertil- 

 izers are subject to some loss by leaching ; it is difficult to say 

 what proportion of fertilizers is lost in this way ; more is lost in 

 sandy soils than in clay, but the loss is not so much as is generally 

 supposed. Drainage water shows no more nitrogen where that 

 element was applied than where none was. In an experiment in 

 passing water through the soil, no phosphoric acid was noticed 

 until nitrate of soda was applied. One farm may need one crop 

 and another a different crop to take the plant food which was out 

 of the reach of the previous crops. 



On motion of Francis H. Appleton a vote of thanks to Dr. 

 Goessmann for his admirable and interesting paper was unani- 

 mously passed. 



The Committee on Discussions gave notice that on the next 

 Saturday William J. Stewart would read a paper on the " Progress 

 of Commercial Floriculture." 



