INTRODUCTION TO NEW AND ENI^VRfJED EDITION. 



Sir John Bonnot I-iwis kin<lly consentetl to write a Chapter 

 for th«' nrw «(liti<m of tliis work. Th«' EK'JU'on, the I)(Ktor, tlie 

 S«iuin'. Charli.- iin<l inysrlf all ft-lt tlatt«TiMl ami soint'wliat 

 hiishful at tiiuiiiiK «>iirs<Iv('s in such distiiiKuishcil roiiipaiiy. I 

 lUHil not sjiy tliat tills new Cliapti-r from tlu- jx-n of tht- most 

 eminent F^iikMsIi a^,'ri(•ultural investiKator is worthy of a very 

 cari'ful stuily. I liave nad it ajxaiu and aK:«iii. an<l eaeh 

 time with gnat ami u'mwfd interest. I couM wish there wji3 

 more of it. But to tlu' iutelli>c«-nt and well-informed reader 

 this Chapter will he valu«d not merely for what it contains, but 

 for what it omits. A man wluj knew Kss would write more. 

 Sir John K'h-s strai}?ht to tin- mark, and we have* here his 

 matun- vi<ws on on»- «>f the most inqiortant questions in 

 ajxrieultural science and priwtice. 



Sir John (K'scHIms a tni<t <>f jMHir land, and tells us that the 

 cheap^'st nuthiMl of improving ami eiiricliing it is. to keep a 

 large hreeiling fl<M-k of sheep, and fee<l them American cotton- 

 seed cake. We are i)l<a.seti to find that this is in accordance 

 with the general teaching of our "Talks," as given in this book 

 several years ag<i. 



When this work was first published, sotne of my friends 

 expressed surprise that I did not recommend the more < xtende<l 

 use of artificial manures. One thing is certain, since that time 

 the use of sup^Tjihosphate has Ix-en greatly on the increase. 

 And it seems clear that its use must l>e j»r<»fitable. Where I 

 live, in West<'m New York, it is sown quite generally on winter 

 wheat, and also on barlej' and oats in the spring. On com and 

 potatoes, its use is not so common. Whether this is because 

 its application to these crops is not so easy, or because it does 

 not pHMluce so marked an increase in the yield per acre, I am 

 unable to say. 



Our winter wheat is sown here the first, second, or (rarely) 

 the third week in Septemlx^r. We sow from one and a half to 

 two 3.nd a quarter bushels per acre. It is almost invariably 

 sown with a drill. The drill has a fertilizer attachment that 

 distributes the superjjhosphate at the same time the wheat is 

 (VII) 



