IMPROVEMENT OF LAND. 91 



land in order to raise the crops to which it is applied. For example, the 

 farmer who tried the experiment first may have land naturally rich in phos- 

 phate of lime ; if so, and if he applies a manure containing a mixture of 

 nitrogenous matter, potash, and lime, it could not fail that he should have 

 a good crop, because the phosphate of lime previously in the land, united 

 to the ingredients in the manure applied, produce a perfectly suitable 

 medium for the growth of plants. But, on the other hand, if the neigh- 

 bours who use the same manure have land containing little or no phos- 

 phate of lime, it must follow that they would have inferior crops without 

 this substance ; for it is known that where there is no phosphate of lime 

 in the land, any manure of the character described would be ineffective, 

 and even injurious to plants grown on it. Now, the same results will 

 follow in respect to any other kind of manure that may be used, all 

 depending upon its adaptation to the soil for supplying the necessary 

 food for the growth of the plant which is to be cultivated. Seeing, 

 then, that a thorough knowledge of the application of manures is of so 

 much importance to farmers, it becomes essential that they should be 

 well acquainted with the subject in all its bearings ; and still it must 

 be admitted that they are very deficient in this branch of their business, 

 and have much to learn in order to know how to deal with their land so 

 as to call up its latent capabilities. Until farmers can understand clearly 

 the constitution of their lands, and the kinds of manures they require 

 to insure heavy crops of different kinds, their success must continue to 

 be only partial, and very much regulated by chance. 



Every farmer ought to be an intelligent experimenter on manures him- 

 self that is, he ought to experiment for himself as to what kinds of 

 manures are most suitable for the rearing of particular kinds of crops on 

 his land. Any farmer can do this with certainty in this way : Let him 

 choose a corner in each of three or four of his fields which contain the 

 different kinds of land embraced on his farm. On each of these let him 

 sow and plant a small portion of all the different kinds of crops he rears, 

 applying to portions of each kind of crop the different kinds of manures 

 in use. "When this is done in spring, at the end of the season he will be 

 able to judge for himself as to what particular kind of manure is best 

 suited to rear the different kinds of crops on his land, as will be indicated 

 by the results of the experimental crops respectively. This any intelligent 

 man may manage at a comparatively small cost, and so avoid being dis- 

 appointed by using manures which are not suited to his land. Were all 

 farmers to attend to this, the advantages gained to agriculture would be 

 incalculable, as then every farmer would be enabled, from his own 

 experience, to decide as to the kind of manure which gives the best 

 crop of wheat on his farm, the best crop of turnips, the best grass, &c. 



