1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



f.31 



come as near it as you can. Not self shall rule. 

 butCiodand humanity. 



In the fourth chapter of the book I have 

 been quoting from, there is much said about 

 love to humanity along with love to (rod ; and 

 the chapter closes with tlie words, " He that 

 loveth God. loveth also his brethren." Spells 

 of despondency come becausi> you have been 

 acting .sclftshly — because you have been for 

 some little time thinking of self and i,irntif]iin(j 

 self. Such a course will make you miserable 

 as sure as darkness follows day. We can not 

 live in this world, and enjoy life and happiness, 

 without loving those around us. We must love 

 humanity : yes. we must love unlovable hu- 

 manity. We must love people even if they 

 persist in doing stiipid things. We must love 

 people, even if they are seltish and greedy. We 

 must love people, even if they are low in their 

 desires and ways. We must love the sinner 

 while we hate the sins we see, and we must ask 

 God dally and /(our/j/ to give us grace to see 

 the sins and the unlovable traits inouro7('7i 

 hearts; for we shall never see them unless we 

 ask God to show them to us. I knoiv, friends, 

 for I have had experience. Whenever the 

 faults of others keep coming up before you 

 constantly and continually, it is a proof that 

 your heart is bad. Get out of it; don't make a 

 fuss about every little thing. Remedy the 

 mischief and the loss, if it can be remedied, 

 and be plen-snnt about it. If it can not be 

 remedied, go ahead and let it go. There is 

 too much useless crying over spilled milk in 

 this world. If you have any enemies, love 

 tliein: "do good to them that hate you." and 

 you will never find yourself whining around be- 

 cause God has given you a human life to live, 

 and a good long life too. 



ON THE ,vhp;el. 



During my visit to the Experiment Station 

 I particularly desired Prof, (ireen to let me see 

 just what chemical fertilizers could do and 

 were doing for farm crops; and then we drove 

 to a particular part of the farm, with that end 

 in view. First, there were plats of oat«, or, 

 perhaps I should say. strips clear through the 

 field. The first strip was labeled " nothing " — 

 that is. no fertilizer was applied. Tlie next had 

 a certain forumlaapplied, consisting principally 

 of nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash, and dis- 

 solved boneblack. At the next strip we have 

 perhaps the same chemicals, but in different 

 proportions; and after three or four of the fer- 

 tilized strips there would be one with nothing 

 at all again, and so on clear through the field. 

 Not only were the chemicals used in different 



Eroportions. but there were strips containing 

 eavy and light quantities of the chemicals. I 

 was greatly pleased to see that the chemicnls 

 did usually, without question, on the hard clay 

 soil of the J^xperiment Station, show that they 

 possessed virtue. In almost every case tliere 

 was a marked improvement where the fertiliz'^r 

 ■was used. Every little while we had a strip 

 where barnyard manure was used in varying 

 quantities. These experiments were continued 

 with ditTerent variations through a very wide 

 field. Now, there is no question but that these 

 chemicals, in almost any combination, produce 

 some increase of crop — at least on the Experi- 

 ment Farm. Friend Green cautioned me. how- 



ever, about jumping at conclusions. He said 

 an increase of growth did not always necessarily 

 mean an increase of grain. Again, the fertilized 

 piece would sometimes make cjuite a show in 

 advance of the unfertilized, dui'ing the fore 

 part of the season; but later the unfertilized 

 would catch up. 



I was very anxious to know whether the re- 

 sult would not be just as favorable with the 

 potash omitted, anci we very soon came to a 

 place where tirst one and then the other of the 

 ingredients was left out, and the result seeined 

 here at the Station much as on my own grounds 

 at home. The omission of the sulphate of 

 potash made little or no change in the result; 

 and several times the omission of the nitrate of 

 soda also seemed to make little or no difference, 

 thus pointing pretty conclusively to the fact 

 that the dissolved boneblack was really the val- 

 uable ingredient in the fertilizer— at least, for 

 this class of clay soils; and I believe this bone- 

 black constitutes a half or more of the principal 

 fertilizers now in use. 



Another clear fact exhibited itself on the 

 plots of wheat. In some cases the wheat seem- 

 ed to be almost equally good where no fertiliz- 

 er was used at all; but come to look down close 

 to the ground, and the fertilizer that seemed to 

 have little or no effect on the irheat had pro- 

 duced a rank growth of orchard-grass and 

 various kinds of grassy weeds. The evidence 

 was very clear and plain; for where no feriiliz- 

 er was used, this dense undergrowth was 

 almost entirely wanting. Now, is it possible 

 that the fertilizer would have produced some 

 good result on the wheat had the ground been 

 free from seeds of these various grasses? Is it 

 not also possible that the chemical fertilizer 

 may really injure a growth of grain by stimu- 

 lating other plants among the grain — or, if 

 you choose, making the grain crop more 

 weedy ? 



I was still more interested in seeing the pota- 

 to experiments, especially where we had a strip 

 through the field where different quantities of 

 potato- fertilizer were used. Nothing, showed 

 very ordinary potatoes; 200 lbs. per acre gave a 

 marked and decided advantage, in tops at 

 least, over the unfertilized; 400 lbs. showed a 

 still more luxuriant growth, and so on clear up 

 to half a ton per acre. Why, the difference 

 had made these potatoes start up so as to make 

 almost a regular series of stairs.* The more 

 potato-manure used, the larger the growth of 

 foliage. There is no mistake about this; and 

 any farmer in the State of Ohio can go and'look 

 at it as I did. But we must not be hasty in our 

 conclusions. A large growth of tops does not 

 necessarily mean more potatoes, so friend 

 Green told us. As a general thing it does in- 

 dicate larger and finer tubers; but even if we 

 succeed in getting larger and finer tubers, a 

 serious question confronts us: Are the potatoes 

 enough better to pay the cost of the fertilizer? 

 With potatoes at a dollar a bushel, there is a 

 chance, and a pretty good one. that the fertil- 

 izer may be a good investment; but with po- 

 tatoes at 40 cts.. or even les«. the purchase of 

 fertilizer is a risky business. If I am not wrong, 

 the potato experiment showed, as did the ex- 

 periments with oats a-.d wheat, that the dis- 

 solved boneblack was the principal element 

 needed in our soil. Dissolved Carolina rock, 

 or almost any of the pi'inia rations of bone, are 

 of value, but none of the salts of potash, nor 



*It may l)e well to explain tliat each of the test 

 plots of potatoes consisted of five rows, and each 

 row a different kind, so the efTect of the fertilizer 

 could lie seen on more tliiin one variety of potatoes. 

 All of them responded to tlie potato-manure, and 

 each responded about alike, so far as I recollect. 



