198 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



agriculture, were this principle of the mother country adopted 

 and carried into practice. 



It should be an object of the first importance with every 

 farmer to procure and retain, in the best possible manner, all 

 the fertilizers, both animal and vegetable, which can be obtained 

 upon his farm. These are to his growing crops what hay and 

 forage are to his cattle — the food which is to nourish and perfect 

 their growth. 



I cannot expect, in this essay, to enumerate all the sources of 

 fertility, or to describe minutely the best^ methods of retaining 

 their valuable qualities, and of applying them in such a manner 

 as best to promote the fertility of the soil, and furnish food for 

 the growing crop. With us the chief source of supply is the 

 excrements of our domestic animals. I say chief source, for 

 while these form the base, they may be augmented, and their 

 value greatly increased, by the addition of litter and various 

 waste substances, which are always at hand, in greater or less 

 abundance, upon every farm. 



Among the improvements in agriculture of the present time, 

 we may notice an increased interest and attention to the subject 

 of manures. Yet how much that is valuable is allowed to pass 

 beyond our reach, or is lost, practically, by not being judiciously 

 applied. Many farmers, who exercise some care not to lose the 

 solid portion of the manure from their stables, yet make no 

 provision for absorbing and preserving the liquid portion. 



It has been often said, and I think with truth, that the liquid 

 excrements, from most of our domestic animals, are of no less 

 value than the solid. What an immense loss, then, is annually 

 incurred by allowing, as many do, the larger portion of the 

 former to descend into the earth beneath the cattle stables, or be 

 carried away and dissipated by exposure to rain and sunshine. 

 Some have advocated applying the liquid manure separately ; 

 but with VIS, I am persuaded, such a course is unwise. In order 

 to be preserved and used to the best advantage, the liquid and 

 solid portions should be combined. This appears evident from 

 the diiference in their composition, and unless thus applied, we 

 are liable to give to the crop a surplus of some of the necessary 

 fertilizing ingredients, while there is a deficiency of others, no 

 less important. 



