128 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETT. 



Edmund Hersey spoke of the feeding of plants in connection 

 with the soil. He had found that what proved beneficial to the 

 soil in New Hampshire and western Massachusetts, was very 

 unsatisfactory on his soil. He had thought potash to be the one 

 thing necessary until by experiments he found it an injury. He 

 went into some nice experiments on this point, and for the present 

 his soil gets along without any additional potash. All farmers 

 should know that potash causes great damage when applied too 

 freely. Probably there are others who, like him, have a supply 

 of potash in the soil. Potash on his soil caused reduced crops, 

 while phosphoric acid produced increased crops. He had never 

 applied too much of the latter, though he had used at the rate of 

 8120 worth to the acre. More than $30 worth of nitrogen is an 

 injury. He has been trying to fix the colors which are produced 

 by an under or over supply of nitrogen, etc. The effect of an 

 over supply of nitrogen on corn is precisely the same as that of a 

 cold storm in May ; a blue streak will be seen running down the 

 centre of the leaves. The effect of potash is exactly opposite. 

 He thought he could tell by the color of the leaves, whether corn 

 was injured by an over supply of potash. He asked wh}' his soil 

 should differ from the soils in New Hampshire. It is because 

 soils are made up differently ; there may be potash in the stones 

 on some farms, and none in the stones on others. Then again, 

 the stones in a soil may be rich in potash, but not be in such a 

 state of decomposition as to be available for plant food. We 

 cannot learn from the lecture platform or from books how to treat 

 our soils, but farmers must learn from experience not to apply what 

 is not needed. The idea has been prevalent that we only lose the' 

 interest on the cost of useless substances applied to our soils, but 

 potash may be taken up b}' plants in sufficient quantit}' to reduce 

 crops. Manufacturers of fertilizers cannot tell what any soil 

 needs ; only the cultivator can tell. 



Mr. Clapp said that some soils are largely composed of feldspar, 

 which contain a good deal of potash. In Topsham, Me., there 

 are large quarries of feldspar, and the soils in that vicinity need 

 little potash, but near Boston, where the soils are largely formed 

 of diabase or trap-rock, potash is needed, and also in limestone 

 soils. We should not only know our soils, but also the character 

 of the rocks from which they are made. It is just as vital a point 

 to find out the cost as the combinations of fertilizers ; a dollar's 



