24 TALKS ON MANURES. 



" Simply because the natural manure and other plant-food 

 which the soil contains is not in an available condition. It lies 

 dead and inert. It is not soluble, and the roots of the plants can- 

 not get enough of it to enable them to thrive ; and in addition to 

 this, you will find as a matter of fact that these poor ' exhausted ' 

 farms are infested with weeds, which rob the growing crops of a 

 large part of the scanty supply of available plant-food." 



"But these weeds," said the Deacon, "are not removed from 

 the farm. They rot on the land ; nothing is lost." 



" True," said I, " but they, nevertheless, rob the growing crops 

 of available plant-food. The annual supply of plant-food, instead 

 of being used to grow useful plants, is used to grow weeds." 



"I understand that," said the Deacon, "but if the weeds are 

 left on the land, and the useful plants are sold, the farmer who 

 keeps his land clean would exhaust his land faster than the care- 

 less farmer who lets his land lie until it is overrun with thistles, 

 briars, and pig-weed. You agricultural writers, who are con- 

 stantly urging us to farm better and grow larger crops, seem to 

 overlook this point. As you know, I do not take much stock in 

 chemical theories as applied to agriculture, but as you do, here is 

 a little extract I cut from an agricultural paper, that seems to 

 prove that the better you work your land, and the larger crops 

 you raise, the sooner you exhaust your land." 



The Deacon put on his spectacles, drew ^iis chair nearer the 

 lamp on the table, and read the following : 



" There is, on an average, about one-fourth of a pound of potash 

 to every one hundred pounds of soil, and about one-eighth of a 

 pound of phosphoric acid, and one-sixteenth of a pound of sul- 

 phuric acid. If the potatoes and the tops arc continually removed 

 from the soil, it will soon exhaust the potash. If the wheat and 

 straw arc removed, it will soon exhaust the phosphate of lime ; 

 if corn and the stalks, it will soon exhaust the sulphuric acid. 

 Unless there is a rotation, or the mate-rial the plant requires is 

 supplied from abroad, your crops will soon run out, though the 

 soil will continue rich for other plants." 



" That extract," said I, " carries one back twenty-five years. 

 We used to have article after article in this strain. We were told 

 that ' always taking meal out of the tub soon comes to the bot- 

 tom,' and always taking potash and phosphoric acid from the soil 

 will soon exhaust the supply. But, practically, there is really little 

 danger of our exhausting the land. It does not pay. The farm- 

 er's resources will be exhausted long before he can exhaust his 

 farm." 



