MANUUK <>N K.VIKY-FaUMS. 105 



pastures oiicc in llirrc ycjirs, and the same (luunlity ivory year ou 

 his tit'Iil of laaii^tl-wurwl." 



"Thai is iircii.M.-ly wlial 1 havi- bcfn contcuiliuj; for," I rci)Iifcl ; 

 " till' dairymen r m iii:ikc iurp' i|uantilifs of manurr if liu-y makran 

 cfr)rt to do it, ami tlicir farms oiijjiil to In- roiistantly imitroviu;^. 

 Two (Toiw of hay on the siimc meadow, each year, will enalde a 

 farin<T to keep a lame herd of ctjws, and make u j:real (juaiitily of 

 manure — and when you have once cot the manure, there is no dif- 

 ficulty in keeping up and increasin/? the productiveness of the land." 



HOW TO MAKE MOKE AND BETTEK MANL'KE ON DAIRY 



FARMS. 



" You arc riirht," s:iid the Doctor, " in sjiyini: that there is no dif- 

 ficulty in keeping up and in»Tcasinir the proiluctivenessof our dairy 

 farms, when you have once got plenty of manure — but the dillicully 

 is to get a good supply (»f manure to start with." 



This is true, and it is comparatively slow work to bring up a 

 f:inii, unless you have plenty of ca|)ital and can buy all the artificial 

 manure you want. By the free use «)f artificial manures, you could 

 make a farm very productive in one or two years. But the slower 

 ami cheaper method will \>c the one adopted by most of ourj'oung 

 and intelligent dairymen. Few «if us are born with silver spoons 

 in our mouths. We have to earn our money before we can spend it, 

 ami we are none the worse fr)r the di-;<ipline. 



Suppose a yixmg man h:is a farm of KM) acn-s, dcvototl prim ipally 

 to dairying. Some of the land lies on a <reek or river, while other 

 portions are higher and drier. In the s|)ring of the year, a stream 

 of water runs through a part of the farm from the adjoining bills 

 down to the cri'ck or river. The fann now sujiports ten head of 

 cows, tlirce horses, half a dozen slieop, and a few piirs. The land is 

 wortii ITo per acre, but does not pay the interest on half that sum. 

 It is getting worse instead of better. Weeds are multiplying, and 

 the more valuable grasses are dying out. What is to be done? 



In the first place, U-t it be distinctly umlerslood that the land is 

 not exhausted. As I have before .said, the productiveness of a farm 

 does not depend so much on the absolute amount of plant-food 

 which the soil contains, as on the amount of plant-food which is 

 immediati'ly availal)le for the use of the plants. An acre of land 

 that produces half a ton of hay, may contain as much plant-food 

 as an acre that produces three tons of hay. In the one ca.se the 

 plant-fooil is locked \ip in such a form that the crops cannot absorb 

 it, wiiile in the other it is in an available condition. I have no 

 doubt there are fields on the farm I am alluding to, that contain 



