MIXED MEADOWS 201 
Manures and fertilizers 
It has been shown by experiments that a liberal 
supply of plant-food from artificial sources is 
quite as serviceable in supplying the plants with 
their needs as a supply from natural manures, 
provided there is sufficient organic matter in the 
soil. If the cost of actual plant-food is taken into 
consideration, the increase in crop may be secured 
at a lower cost with the artificial than with the 
natural manures. A primary consideration is that 
the land shall be in good tilth, and the preparation 
and cultivation made as previously recommended; 
and there should be an occasional application of 
lime,—at least once in five years,—at the rate of 
twenty-five bushels per acre. This general prac- 
tice will greatly improve the soil in physical char- 
acter, and prevent to a large extent the compacting 
which would be likely to follow a continuous use 
of chemical fertilizers, without the direct addition 
of vegetable matter. Under these conditions the 
following recommendations as to fertilizers are 
made. In summer, while the land is being pre- 
pared, a few days previous to seeding, apply 
broadcast a fertilizer rich in minerals, as 
Ground bone... 2... eee ee es 150 pounds 
Acid phosphate. .......... . . 600 pounds 
Muriate of potash ......... . . 250 pounds 
This mixture should be applied broadcast at the 
rate of 300 to 500 pounds per acre; and at time of 
