162 Experiences up to the end of October, 1904. 



potatoes, he must calculate for himself, with reference to his own 

 surroundings, and no publication of all my profits could aid him, 

 though it is just possible it might mislead him, seeing that, obviously, 

 my results might be much worse or much better than a farmer 

 could obtain who imitated my system. Confucius, the Chinese 

 philosopher, once said: — "If I show one corner of a subject to a 

 man, and he cannot see the other three corners for himself, then 

 I can do nothing with him." In the same way it is only necessary 

 for the farmer to visit one of my young grass fields, which are 

 always full of leguminosje, like the Kaimrig, and if, after going 

 into the cost of production, he cannot see for himself all the 

 consequential results which must arise from such a field, then I can 

 do nothing with or for him. 



But there is another and most important financial point to be 

 considered. Farming, like every other business, consists of a capital 

 account and the profits that may be made out of capital. It is of 

 obvious importance that stock should be carefully taken of the latter 

 — that it should be seen whether it is advancing, standing still, 

 or declining. Landlords' capital mainly consists of soil, and the 

 condition of the soil mainly depends on the amount of humus ic 

 contains. About 100 years ago Scottish agricultural capital was 

 on a sound footing, because the system pursued maintained the 

 humus of the soil (vide paper delivered at Cambridge, Appendix VII. ) 

 It is in an unsound condition now, because from continuous liming 

 and the use of artificial manures the humus of the soil has immensely 

 declined (hence the numerous complaints of the exhaustion of the 

 soil), and is declining steadily except in those rare cases where 

 enough farmyard manure can be obtained to keep up the supply 

 of humus. The object of my farming system at Clifton-on-Bowmont 

 is to show how Scottish agriculture] may be restored to its originally 

 sound position — not only to replace, but to steadily increase, the 

 humus of the soil, and render the farmer, as he once was, independent 

 of the use of artificial manures, though, as I have elsewhere pointed 

 out, these may still be used under certain circumstances to a moderate 

 extent. In other words, my farming system is directed to restoring 

 the capital of the landlord to its originally sound and safe position, to 

 lessen the expenditure at present required by the tenant, and place 

 all his crops in a safe position for contending at once against foreign 

 competition and vicissitudes of climate. How these ends may be 

 achieved most economically has been shown at Clifton-on-Bowmont, 

 and our agriculture never can be restored to a sound condition 

 unless the principles carried out there — principles the soundness of 

 which are admitted all the world over — are universally adopted in 

 these islands. 



The. Cheapest Mixtures. — Mr. James Hunter, the well-known 

 agricultural seedsman of Chester, has more than once remonstrated 

 with me as regards the quantity of seed I use. If the most favourable 

 conditions of season and soil are granted he is perhaps right, but if we 



