32 THE COMMERCIAL AND AGRICULTURAL 



than any of the other constituents which are found in farmyard 

 manure. The great value of artificial manures depends upon the 

 circumstance that they present these important constituents in a 

 concentrated state. Perhaps some of you may say, " It's all very 

 well for you to tell us this ; and to lecture to practical men about 

 phosphate and ammonia, but how far does your theoretical 

 reasoning agree with the experience of farmers ?" I would refer 

 you in answer to this, to the acknowledged advantages which 

 the use of guano and superphosphate produces ; and anyone who 

 has seen the striking results of these two descriptions of manure 

 will see at once that their value does not depend upon anything 

 mysterious, but upon real chemical substances. It must always 

 be our aim to be guided by practical experience, and to explain 

 matters of fact which are the results, not only of the limited 

 experience of a farmer in one district, but also of the general 

 experience of farmers throughout the country. I would impress 

 upon my audience the important fact that the value of artificial 

 manures cannot be simply ascertained by practical experiments, 

 unless these experiments are various in their character, and 

 extend over a long series of years. An analysis of manure will 

 give you useful hints as to the money which you ought to pay 

 for it, but it does not tell you which is the best manure which, 

 under existing circumstances, ought to be used ; and it is not the 

 office of the scientific chemist or the manure dealer to recom- 

 mend to his clients particular manures. The fact of the case is 

 that the farmer must use his own judgment ; at the same time I 

 would remind you that artificial manures are not intended to 

 save labour. 



Those who think that good crops can be secured by merely 

 using guano, or superphosphate, or nitrate of soda, or any other 

 artificial manure, without adopting other means, will find them- 

 selves grievously disappointed. The fact is, the use of artificial 

 manures requires superior intelligence, I might almost say a 

 special training, which can hardly be expected from men who 

 all their life have been accustomed to follow farming as a 

 livelihood. I would say to all those who are not in a position 

 to use artificial manures with advantage, Better follow _your own 

 approved system of farming, without using artificial manures at 

 all, than samply depend upon the use of artificial manures for 

 success. No success will follow unless you introduce into your 

 farming practice improvements of another character. The best 

 manures are frequently condemned for want of not using mecha- 

 nical means of cultivation, which so greatly improve the condition 

 of the soil. I cannot too strongly impress upon your minds the 

 fact, that it is not merely by using artificial manures that profit- 

 able results are obtained in farming matters. It is of the greatest 



