570 SOILS: PROPERTIES AND MANAGEMENT 



detailed consideration of the question would be not only 

 interesting but also profitable, would space permit. One 

 point of broader scope, however, than the addition of a 

 well-balanced food stimulation, stands out clearly in this 

 consideration. The necessity of putting a soil in any 

 given climate into the best possible condition for plant 

 growth is paramount. This means that drainage, lime, 

 humus, and tillage, in the order named, must be raised 

 to their highest perfection. Under such improvements 

 the further use of commercial fertilizers may or may not 

 be a paying investment. 



478. Method and time of applying fertilizers. — The 

 distribution of the fertilizer by means of machinery is 

 much more satisfactory than is broadcasting by hand, 

 as the former method gives a more uniform distribution. 

 Cereals and other crops are now usually planted with a 

 drill or a planter provided with an attachment for dropping 

 the fertilizer at the same time that the seed is sown, the 

 fertilizer being by this method placed under the surface 

 of the soil. Broadcasting machines are also used, which 

 leave the fertilizer uniformly distributed on the surface 

 of the ground, thus permitting it to be harrowed in suffi- 

 ciently before the seed is planted, and preventing injury 

 to the seed by the chemical activity of the fertilizing 

 material. 



Corn planters with fertilizer attachments deposit 

 the fertilizer beneath the seed, thus avoiding a possible 

 detrimental contact. Grain drills do not do this, and, 

 where the amount of fertilizer used exceeds 300 or 400 

 pounds an acre, it is better to apply it before seeding. 

 Grass and other small seeds should be planted only after 

 the fertilizer has been mixed with the soil for several 

 days. For crops to which large quantities of fertilizers 



