184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



our town, notwithstanding what ray friend Stockbridge has 

 said, we had fine fields of corn, whether raised upon barn- 

 yard manure or upon chemicals. Right beside me, I think, my 

 friend, Mr. Knowlton, had a crop nearly, if not quite, equal 

 to mine, raised upon his fine manure. He did not weigh the 

 crop, I believe, and therefore I am not able to say whether it 

 was exactly equal to mine or not. Until the drought of August 

 came, it seemed as if the crops planted with the fertilizer had 

 the start of those planted with manure. When the drought 

 came, as far as I could judge, the fertilizer did not seem com- 

 petent to carry through the crop any better than manure. 



I have been interested in this matter a long time. Tbe 

 book to which Captain Moore alluded is a book that has been 

 in my library for years. I have read it with a great deal of 

 pleasure, but never until lately has this matter assumed such 

 a form that it seems to me it is in the power of every farmer 

 of ordinary intelligence to take these chemicals and go into 

 his field and expect, at any rate, a fair average result, and 

 nearly in accordance with the formula as presented ; and 

 therefore it seems to me that it is only just that these facts 

 should be collected from every quarter and brought together, 

 to show just what the law is that we can apply everywhere 

 and be sure of our results. 



Mr. . I want to ask Professor Stockbrido;e how the 



fertilizer should be applied to pasture land, and what is the 

 value of the fertilizer as compared with manure, at $8 a cord 

 for three years, provided the manure can be conveniently 

 obtained? 



Prof. Stockbkidge. When the gentleman speaks of "pas- 

 ture land," I understand him to mean the old, rocky hillsides, 

 where we cannot draw manure, and which we cannot plough 

 and renovate in that way. 



Mr. . I have pasture land that can be ploughed, — 



sandy loam. 



Prof. Stockbridge. On rocky land, over which you can- 

 not drive a yoke of cattle, I would sow the fertilizer, and then 

 haul an old-fashioned drag over it, to tear it up more or less, 

 and then I would sow grass-seeds, — both kinds of clover, 

 redtop, blue-grass, bent, and a very little herdsgrass. 

 would not sow the fertilizer on one of these old pastures with- 



