When the liquid manure is absorbed by the solid, so that the 

 mixture represents the normal proportions of the two, the 

 average analysis is about as follows: — 



Per Cent. 



Nitrogen, . . . . . . . . . . .70 



Phosphoric acid, . . . . . . . . . .25 



Potash, ........... .55 



It will be seen from the foregoing analyses that horse manure, 

 like most other animal manures, is very deficient in phosphoric 

 acid. If manure is to be used in the most economical manner 

 where an abundance of it is available, one should apply enough 

 to supply all of the nitrogen that is required, and supplement it 

 with phosphoric acid, and, if necessary, with additional potash. 

 Unfortunately, the cases are rare where enough manure is avail- 

 able or where ita cost is so low that one can follow this proce- 

 dure; hence the usual practice, and the more rational and 

 economical one ordinarily, is to make smaller applications and 

 then supplement the manure with a fertilizer containing a 

 suitable, moderate percentage of nitrogen, a high percentage of 

 phosphoric acid, and a moderate percentage of potash. 



Before proceeding w'ith a discussion of fertilizers in detail, a 

 word should be said about liming. Not long ago, upon looking 

 up some of the experiments wdth lime in recent years, I found 

 it frequently happened, in cases w^here lime and fertilizer were 

 used on the same acre of land, that this single acre gave a 

 larger crop than 2 acres, one of which was fertilized and the 

 other limed. In other words, 1 acre, if treated properly, often 

 produces a larger crop than 2 acres when liming is neglected on 

 one and fertilizing on the other. I shall speak further of 

 liming in connection with the discussion of various crops. 



It is important in using fertilizers to understand the effect of 

 the individual ingredients on both the soil and the plant. For 

 example, where nitrate of soda is applied to the soil, plants re- 

 move the nitric acid faster than they do the soda; hence the 

 residue of soda combines w^ith carbonic acid, forming sodium 

 carbonates. If nitrate of soda is applied year after year in 

 large amounts on a heavy clay soil which has a tendency to 

 bake, the sodium carbonates formed will finally deflocculate the 



