66 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. 



I discovered an open sewer, into wliicb this liquid manure 

 was running. It did not take long to make a report upon 

 the management. The land showed what little of the value 

 of that manure went back to it. The higher value in stable 

 manures is in the liquid parts, — the value is about three- 

 fifths in the liquid and two-fifths in the solids ; and yet in 

 this instance it was running away by the hogshead every 

 day, and I might say every hour, — running away into a 

 sewer, instead of going back upon the land. It is highly 

 important that we carefully study this problem of our stable 

 manures, and allow no waste. 



I have dwelt thus long upon the soil because I feel its im- 

 portance. I have perhaps given more time to the discussion 

 of this phase of the subject than I shall to that of fruit cul- 

 ture, which I shall now take up, because I feel that the future 

 success of our farmers depends so largely upon the upbuild- 

 ing of the soil. We nmst use ever}^ possible means for 

 conserving plant food, because in the future we want to make 

 even greater demands upon it than we have in the past. 

 Hence I have given this time to this part of the discussion. 



Fruit has the highest value of any of our productions. In 

 the culture of fruit to-day one of the first duties of the 

 grower is to adopt systematic methods of improving the soil 

 upon which it is to be grown. The land for fruit culture 

 should be selected with reference to the kind of fruit to be 

 grown. Here again let me use the soil chart. The ideal 

 soil for most tree fruits is a deep, rich, clay loam ; and espe- 

 ciall}'^ is this true for apples, pears and plums. This is the 

 type that is best adapted to these three fruits. The clay 

 soil seems to carry more evenly in its organization the mois- 

 ture which is re(|uired by trees than the more open, sandy 

 soils. Our tree fruits are a littlc! longer perfecting, and 

 hence a soil that will carry moisture over a long period of 

 dry weather is better adapted to trees. Small fruits are well 

 adapted to sandy soils, because of the shorter period in which 

 they mature. In planting orchards it is always desirable, 

 if possible, to select soil that has some clay in it. The clay 

 loam is admirable, exceedingly so, for fi'uit of nearly all 

 kinds ; where you can get a loamy soil, with a small per cent 



