INTRODUCTION TO NEW EDITION. XVII 



manures. It depends, doubtless, on the land and on circum- 

 stances. It is well to know that manure on grass land, will so 

 increase the growth of the good grasses, as to smother the 

 weeds. Near my house was a piece of land that I wanted to 

 make into a lawn. I sowed it with grass seed, but the weeds 

 smothered it out. I plowed it, and hoed it, and re-seeded it, 

 ' but still the weeds grew. Mallows came up by the thousand, 

 with other weeds too numerous to mention. It was an eye- 

 sore. We mowed the weeds, but almost despaired of ever 

 making a decent bit of grass land out of it. It so happened 

 that, one year, we placed the chicken coops on this miserable 

 weedy spot. The hens and chickens were kept there for several 

 weeks. The feed and the droppings made it look more un- 

 sightly than ever, but the next spring, as if by magic, the 

 weeds were gone and the land was covered with dark green 

 luxuriant grass. 



In regard to the use of potash as a manure, we have still 

 much to learn. It would seem that our grain crops will use 

 soda, if tliey cannot get potash. They much prefer the potash, 

 and will grow much more luxuriantly where, in the soil or ma- 

 nure, in addition to the other elemgnts of plant food, potash is 

 abundant. But the increased growth caused by the potash, is 

 principally, if not entirely, straw, or leaves and stem. Nature 

 makes a great effort to propagate the species. A plant of wheat 

 or barley, will produce seed if this is possible, even at the ex- 

 pense of the other parts of the plant. 



For grain crops, grown for seed, therefore, it would seem to 

 be entirely unprofitable to use potash as a manure. If the soil 

 contains the other elements of plant food, the addition of 

 potash may give us a much more luxuriant growth of leaves 

 and stem, but no more grain or seed. For hay, or grass or fod- 

 der crops, the case is very different, and potash may often be 

 used on these crops to great advantage. 



I am inclined to think that considerable nitrate of soda will 

 yet be used in this country for manure. I do not suppose it will 

 pay as a rule, on wheat, corn and other standard grain crops. 

 But the gardener, seed grower, and nurseryman, will find out 

 how to use it with great profit. Our nurserymen say that they 

 cannot use artificial manures with any advantage. It is un- 

 doubtedly true that a dressing of superphosphate, sown on a 

 block of nursery trees, will do little good. It never reaches the 

 foots of the plants. Superphosphate can not be washed down 

 deep into the soil. Nitrate of soda is readily carried dov/n, as 



