Fertilizers. 21!) 



perience they desire in that line already. While some 

 have used them successfully, they are dangerous and 

 should be avoided. 



Beware of trying new things on a large scale, before prov- 

 ing them for yourself. This has not reference so much 

 to plants as to methods of building, food given to 

 plants, or any treatment not in accord with past expe- 

 rience or good common sense. Experimenting is one 

 of the ways by which we learn, but it should be eon- 

 ducted on a small scale until proved to be both useful 

 and reliable. The instance recently cited of the loss 

 that attended the use of nitrate of soda, is only one of 

 the many where great loss has occurred through using 

 certain things largely on the recommendation of others. 

 $5,000 would not compensate the man of my acquaint- 

 ance who risked his crop in the season of '92 on horn 

 shavings. Opportunities for success coming With each 

 year, if lost, never come again; a whole year's work is 

 blotted out. Worse than that, there is danger that the 

 savings of years of toil may go with it. Some years 

 ago an acquaintance conceived the idea that his hot 

 water pipes needed a preservative, so during the early 

 fall he gave them a coat of coal tar. A more senseless 

 thing was never thought of, and still we occasionally 

 hear of a case of this kind, and they are atlways at- 

 tended with the same results, a total loss of the crop 

 for the season. It is to be hoped the next generation 

 will be wiser. 



