XVI TALK.-^ ON M \ N ( i;K.>. 



not. It (IcimikIs on iiur p-iii-nil iiiau:iK>-nu'nt. Tlx-orrtiraHy. 

 tlu' ust' of a manure furiiisliin^; only one i-l«-ni«>nt of planl {inn\, 

 if it incrt'iuses the growth «>f crops whicli are soM fmni the 

 farm, must have a t«.*nileney to im{»overi8h the hmii of the oth«r 

 eli-ments of plant foovl. In other words, the use of 8Ui>erph«>s- 

 p'l.itc furuishinK only. «)r priueiiKilly, phitsphoric acid, lime and 

 Huiphuric a<id. iimtit have a tendency t4» im|>overiah the soil t>f 

 nitrogen and iM.tJi.sh. I'nictically. ho\v»'ver, it netil do nothing 

 of the kind. If the land is well cultivate*!, and if our low. 

 rich, alluvial iHirtioiis of the farm an* drained, and if the hay. 

 grass, clover, straw and f<Mlder «-roi»8 are n'taintsl. the more 

 phosphates we use, the richer and more jiroductive will the 

 fann become. And I think it is a fact, that the farnien* who 

 use the most ]>hosphates. are the very men who take the gn-at- 

 est pains to drain their land, cultivate it thoroughly, and make 

 the most manure. It follows, then-fore, that the use of phos- 

 phates is a national iMMielit. 



Sonje of our railroad managers take this view <»f the suhjiH't. 

 They carry suj>erphosphate at a low rat*.*, knowing tliat its use 

 will increase the freight the other way. In otlnr words, they 

 bring a ton of sup •rphosphate from the S4*nl>oard. knowing that 

 its use will give them many tons of freight of priwluce, from 

 the interior to the si-alxiard. It is not an uncommon thing for 

 two hundred iM>unds of 8Ui>erphosphate, to give an incn-as*- of 

 five tons of turnijis ]>er acre. Or. so to 8|)e:tk, the niilrowl that 

 l)rings one ton of suixTphosphate from the »t»alH>ard. might, as 

 the result of its use, liave fifty tons of fn*ight tv carry Imck 

 again. Tliis is iMTliajw a:i exceptioiiahly favorable instance, 

 but it illustrates the prin<iple. Years ago. In-fori' the aUilition 

 of tolls on the English turnpike roa<ls. carriages loaded witli 

 lime, and all other subst;uices intendeil for manure, were 

 allowed to go fn-e. Ami our niilroa<ls will find it to their in- 

 terest to transport manures of all kinds, at a merely nominal 

 rate. 



Many people will be surprised at tlie n'commendntion of Sir 

 Jolin B. I^iwes. not ti> waste time and money in cleaning |H«)r 

 land. iR'fore seeding it down to gra.s8. He thinks that if tlie 

 land is made rich, the superior grassi'S overgrow the Kid 

 grasses and we«>ds. I have no doubt he is right in this, though 

 the principle may Ix- puslied U) an extreme. Our climat*-. in 

 this countrv, is so favorable for killing wi-eds. that the plow 

 and the cidtivator will jirobably In- a more economical means 

 of making our land clean, than the lil.>eral U8« of expenaive 



