56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. 



relations demands that we should inquire as to the causes 

 of this rapid development of the commercial fertilizer trade. 

 The first cause, and the one which most naturally comes 

 to our minds, is the exhaustion of the soil. There is no 

 question but what the pioneer farmers were spendthrifts. 

 Nature was kind to them, in that she furnished them abun- 

 dantly with materials for cro}) growing ; and, as largely 

 through ignorance and partly through indifterence one gen- 

 eration is prone to ignore the needs of the next, so our 

 Withers wasted the heritage of the sons. Those who culti- 

 vated the virgin soil drew heavily upon these new lands, 

 without making adequate return. In this way, all over the 

 eastern States much of our farming lands had come into 

 such a condition, throuo'h imiorant, careless and indifferent 

 methods, that profital:)le crops could not be grown without 

 unusual preparation. When commercial fertilizers came 

 upon the market, and farmers l)egan to see that by the 

 application to the soil of a few hundred pounds of some 

 })articular material they could secure an increase of crop 

 to the point of profit, many immediately turned to this new 

 ally of modern agriculture as a means of doing a profitalile 

 ])usiness. Doubtless some halted between two opinions ; 

 but example and precept have done their perfect work, and 

 now the old-fashioned farmer who depends upon the barn- 

 yard is the exception, not the rule. 



And there is no question l)ut what the commercial fer- 

 tilizers have been used at a profit liy a large number of 

 farmers, especially during the reign of what we now regard 

 as high prices. Whether this shall continue to l)e true 

 under the changed conditions to which we have referred, 

 depends, we believe, very much upon the farmer's method 

 of management. 



I trust I shall not be misjudged, if I state, moreover, that 

 commercial fertilizers are a favorite adjunct to what may 

 be styled lazy farming. The men whose methods have 

 involved good cultivation and careful attention to every 

 detail which relates to the maintenance of fertility, know 

 that the conservation and development of the home re- 

 sources involve a great deal of labor. It is only the 

 active, thoughtful, industrious man who can take a farm, 



