172 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Apru 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EXPERIMENTS "WITH SPECIAL PER- 

 TILIZERS. 

 It is a difficult task to conduct successful ex- 

 periments with animal and vegetable life and 

 give them to the public in a clear, accurate and 

 definite form. The novice is little aware how 

 easily he can prove a falsity, how liable to 

 confound himself and mislead others. An ex- 

 perimenter should first acquire some knowl- 

 edge of the subject he has in hand. He should 

 be a close observer, a patient and diligent 

 searcher for _ truth, free from prejudice, and 

 open to conviction, as well as comprehensive 

 and accurate in reasoning. With all these 

 qualities, experience increases the power of 

 determining the truth. The agricultural works 

 of this country are deficient in carefully con- 

 ducted experiments in all departments. The 

 boards of agriculture and managers of our va- 

 rious societies would confer favors upon their 

 constituency, if they would make, or cause to 

 be made by competent persons, experiments of 

 the many new things now urged upon the pat- 

 ronage of farmers, and fearlessly publish the 

 results ; or if they would give some simple and 

 explicit directions to those who choose to in- 

 vestigate for themselves. 



A large share of the disappointment and 

 many of the conflicting results with the special 

 fertilizer of the day, arise from very imperfect 

 trials. Either the premises are wrong, the de- 

 tails or attending circumstances negrected, or 

 the conclusions are inaccurately drawn. 



Take, for example, what is now attracting 

 public attention, "Bone Flour." I know of one 

 instance where it was tried without apparent 

 benefit upon a mowing field which is kept in 

 high condition, and where the grass was cut 

 early ; and of another, with like results, upon 

 a market garden, where the land receives 

 heavy dressings of stable and vault manure 

 combined, and where the crops are taken off 

 early. In both these cases the experimenters 

 condemned bones in toto, declaring "bone ma- 

 nure not worth a cent, and they \vould not ap- 

 ply it if given to them." In both these cases 

 it is plain that the mode of cropping does not 

 take from the land much phosphate of lime, 

 and consefjuently the very liberal applications 

 of the richest manures supplied all that was 

 wanted. 



Again, some have the idea that the flour of 

 bone is intended for a substitute for barnyard 

 manure, and try its effects accordingly. They 

 deal out a spoonful or two in a hill, in one row, 

 maiuu-e or wood ashes in the next row, and so 

 on. They look for results in the stalk and leaf; 

 and seeing the great difference in favor of ma- 

 nure, force the conclusion at once, that their 

 land does not need bones. 



A sliglit knowledge of chemistry, which may 

 be actjuired in tiie field as well as "in the labora- 

 tory, shows tlial bones or phosphate of lime is 

 highly inii)ortant in the growth of plants, and 



through them to animal economy. But it is 

 only a small part of the plant. Other elements 

 are necessary to the formation of the plant than 

 those which bones furnish, or which they can 

 produce out of the soil by any action they may 

 have upon it. It would be as reasonable to ex- 

 pect a cliild to thrive upon sugar, starch, or 

 butter alone, as plants to grow from the mere 

 application of bone flour. It was never in- 

 tended as a substitute for barnyard manure. 

 It is only a help, being an expeditious and 

 economical way of returning to the farm what 

 has been carried away in products sold. AVhile 

 the ammonia in guano, and some other com- 

 mercial fertilizers, goes to form the blade, stalk, 

 and leaf, phosphate of lime develops the fruit, 

 seed and grain, — it tends to perfiact the plant, 

 rather than build its fibre and cellular struc- 

 ture ; hence its benefits are not so easily de- 

 termined by the eye. It acts slower than am- 

 monia, and one year is not sufficient to test it, 

 especially if the season is dry. Plants, like an- 

 imals, requii-e a limited amount and all in ex- 

 cess is rejected, and disappointment will follow 

 large applications, if immediate returns only 

 are expected. 



It would be difficult to give rules by which 

 it could be determined what field would be 

 benefited by it ; though it is obvious that light 

 and poor soils are sooner exhausted of this ele- 

 ment than heavy, retentive and rock}- ones, 

 but much depends upon the kind of crops 

 raised and sold, and the mode of cropping. 

 Though exhausting crops are continually rais- 

 ed, there will be little impoverishment of the 

 land if they are spent upon the farm. When 

 seeds, grain, milk and animals are sold year 

 after jear, tlie phosphates are taken away in 

 large quantities. Such farms ought to fe"how 

 good results from their return. 



For convenience in experimenting with bone 

 flour, it is advisable to mix it with muck, sand 

 or any kind of dry fine soil. On grain, hay or 

 pasture lands, apply as early in spring as pos- 

 sible. Sow it on a strip across the field. If 

 there are variations in the soil, the strip select- 

 ed should cross them so as to embrace a part 

 of all kinds. AVith lioed crops, mark out two 

 equal lots in a favorable part of the field. On 

 one, apply nothing ; on the other, sow the mix- 

 ture broadcast or in the drills. Determine the 

 results or increase, by measure and weight. 

 Trying wood ashes or stable manure at the 

 same time, and comparing their results with 

 that of bones, has nothing to do with the expe- 

 riment, and is apt to detract the attention from 

 the main point, w'hich is to ascertain how much 

 more land willyield withbone flour than without 

 it. If any benefit is found, a liberal aj)plication 

 ouglit to show good effects several yi-ars. Its 

 action and nature prove that it is intended for 

 occasional, rather than constant use. The 

 same may be said of some other special fertil- 

 izers, as ])Ias(er, salt, &c. It has frt'(|uently 

 happenc^d that a slight application of these ar- 

 ticles has produced good results ; larger and 



