Fertilizers on Lumpy Lands 



79 



if the humus, or decaying organic matter, is allowed to 

 wear out of it. It then becomes leachy, it quickly loses its 

 moisture, and is excessively hot in bright, sunny weather. 

 Similar remarks may be appled to all soils, although they 

 are not equally true of all. 



FIG. 13. A well-tilled orchard in New York. 



If these remarks are true, then it follows that it is use- 

 less to apply commercial fertilizers to lands not in proper 

 physicial condition for the best growth of crops. If 

 potash, for example, were applied to hard lumps of clay, 

 it could not be expected to aid much in the growth of 

 plants, because plants cannot grow on such a place. If the 

 same quantity were applied to mellow soil, however, the 

 greater part of it would be presented to the roots of plants 

 at once, and its effects would no doubt be apparent in the 

 season's crop. The improvement of the structure of the 

 soil is not only a means of presenting the plant-foods to 

 the roots and of uniformly distributing what fertilizer may 



