378 



The Land and Its Treatment 



concentrated fertilizer; it is also added when green-crops 

 are plowed under, or when manure or compost of garden 

 lefuse is applied. It will now be seen that the best re- 

 sults are usually to be expected when there is something 

 like a rotation in the fertilizing of the land, stable 

 manures being used alternateh' with concentrated or com- 

 mercial fertilizers. If such manures are not to be had 

 for the entire plantation, they should be applied to the 

 hardest spots or be reserved for the more exacting crops. 



The kind and quantity of fertilizers are to be deter- 

 mined b}' several circumstances : ( 1 ) the earliness or 

 quickness with which the crop is to be obtained; (2) the. 

 intensity of the operations to which the man is com- 

 mitted; (3) the nature of the land as regards tilth and 

 texture; (4) the character of the land as regards rich- 

 ness in plant-food; (5) the kind or species of crops. 



There is no infallible means by which one can deter- 

 mine what fertilizers to apply. The grower must study 

 his conditions and judge as best he can. A little ex- 

 periment with different kinds of fertilizer on two or 

 three of the leading crops at one side of the plantation, is 

 the readiest means of answering the question. If one is 

 in doubt, it is Avell to seek advice how to lay out and con- 

 duct a demonstration plat; this advice will be given by 

 the college of agriculture or farm-bureau agent. There 

 are standard forms for such plats. 



The chemical analysis of the plant, while of the great- 

 est use to the chemist in giving him suggestions, is of no 

 practical use to the farmer in determining the kind of 

 fertilizers or what amount shall be applied, notwithstand- 

 ing a still more or less prevalent notion to the contrary. 



