MIXED MEADOWS 201 



Manures and fertilizers 



It has been shown by experiments that a liberal 

 supply of i^lant-food from artificial sources is 

 quite as serviceable in supplying the plants with 

 their needs as a supply from natural manures, 

 provided there is sufficient organic matter in the 

 soil. If the cost of actual plant -food is taken into 

 consideration, the increase in crop may be secured 

 at a lower cost with the artificial than with the 

 natural manures. A primary consideration is that 

 the land shall be in good tilth, and the preparation 

 and cultivation made as previously recommended; 

 and there should be an occasional application of 

 lime, — at least once in five years, — at the rate of 

 twenty-five bushels per acre. This general prac- 

 tice will greatly improve the soil in physical char- 

 acter, and prevent to a large extent the compacting 

 which would be likely to follow a continuous use 

 of chemical fertilizers, without the direct addition 

 of vegetable matter. Under these conditions the 

 following recommendations as to fertilizers are 

 made. In summer, while the land is being pre- 

 pared, a few days previous to seeding, apply 

 broadcast a fertilizer rich in minerals, as 



Ground bone 150 pounds 



Acid phosphate 600 pounds 



Muriate of potash 250 pounds 



This mixture should be applied broadcast at the 

 rate of 300 to 500 pounds per acre; and at time of 



