406 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 26, 1892. 
and to demonstrate in 1839 the importance of the mineral 
constituents thei’ein ; Liebig as having in 1840 “ built up the 
science of agriculture” by the publication of his great work, 
“ Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and 
Physiology,” in which he showed that humus builds up plant 
life, that plants derive their acid from the carbonic acid of the 
atmosphere, that their hydrogen comes from water, their nitrogen 
from ammonia in the air and the soil, their sulphur from the 
sulphates which abound in all soils, that the mineral matter 
constituting the ash of plants is supplied by the soil, that this 
mineral matter is absolutely essential to vegetable life, and that 
soil fertility cannot be maintained unless the mineral substances 
withdrawn by cropping are restored. His four laws of husbandry 
which form the basis of modern and scientific agriculture were 
then demonstrated and established by experiment. (1) A soil 
can be termed fertile only when it contains all the materials 
requisite for the nutrition of plants in the required quantity and in 
the proper form. (2) With every crop a portion of these 
ingredients is removed ; a portion of this portion is again added 
from the inexhaustible store of the atmosphere, the remainder 
must be restored by man. (3) The fertility of the soil remains 
unchanged if all the ingredients of a crop are given back to the 
land ; such a restitution is effected by manure. (4) The manure 
produced in the course of husbandry is not sufficient to permanently 
maintain the fertility of a farm, it lacks the constituents annually 
absorbed by crops and live stock. 
After according due notice to the labours of Messrs. Lawes 
and Gilbert, more especially of their demonstration that soil 
well supplied with minerals, but devoid of nitrogen, is as unfertile 
as one containing an abundance of nitrogenous matter but deficient 
in the mineral ash constituents, Mr. Brown showed how entirely 
his views are in accord with those of other chemists of the day 
about soil exhaustion, its remedy or prevention ; that phosphates, 
nitrogen, lime, and potash are the only essential elements of plant 
food which we have to supply, and that all the other constituents 
of plant ash may be ignored. We make especial mention of this 
fact, because magnesia, iron, and silica are still occasionally 
recommended as necessary to add to manure mixtures. Such 
advice is sometimes misleading if not mischievous, and we strongly 
recommend puzzled home farmers to write to Mr. Brown about 
their soils, crops, and requirements. Phosphates it was shown 
are needed, and repay application on almost all our soils. So 
much has been removed in corn, in meat, in milk, in roots, that 
even the fertile virgin soils of America are showing exhaustion. 
Even the rich and deep soils of our marshlands are greatly 
benefited by the application of superphosphates. Nitrogen is in 
equal demand, but potash is not required so generally. Its 
absorption by crops from the soil is always slow, very much soil 
containing sufficient for hundreds of years of ordinary farm 
practice. On the other hand, some soil under cultivation is 
deficient in potash ; this is easily ascertained by using potash for 
part of a crop and withholding it from the remainder. 
When a farmer has held his farm for a few years he ought 
not to use manure wastefully. He now knows the amount of food 
substances exported from the farm in crop and stock, he also 
knows the amounts brought to the farm in superphosphates, 
bone manure, cake, and nitrates ; a balance is easily struck, the 
deficiency made good, and so the soil is kept stored with fertility 
without waste, and full crops are a certainty. At first there 
must be repeated trials to ascertain what manorial substances give 
the best returns, these must then be obtained singly and by 
guarantee, and then thoroughly mixed at the farm. In Belgium, 
France, and Germany this has now become unnecessary. Govern¬ 
ment agricultural stations having been established, where, besides 
conducting experiments and original research, the chemists are 
bound to analyse without charge any sample of a manure sent 
by a farmerJcuying more than half a ton, or of a feeding material 
where five tpns are bought. The‘ composition of ^uch manure or 
feeding stuff must be given by the seller with the invoice. This 
practice has afforded to the farmers such familiarity with the 
terms of the analytical table, with the modes of calculating the 
values therefrom, that both fraud and imposition are becoming 
things of the past. It is clearly for our advantage to have similar 
establishments. In this, as in so many other things, we have 
allowed other countries to slip past us, and yet a quarter of a 
century ago England was the only country where chemical manures 
were used. Technical education will set us right in this matter. The 
spread of scientific knowledge on the continent has led even the 
very small farmers to seek the aid of the chemist ; it will do so here 
in due course, and then we shall have plant food estimated at its 
true worth, and applied with proportionate discretion and certainty. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Let all possible care be given to calves now ; do not let bright 
weather induce you to turn them out to grass prematurely. In point 
of fact there should be no absolute turning out of calves at all, only a 
run in the calf paddock in warm dry weather, with yard and lodge at 
hand for shelter. Thicken the milk gradually with meal to give it the 
consistency of gruel and render it more nourishing, and get them to eat hay 
early. A little patience at first is rewarded by thrifty healthy animals. 
Management tells here as in most other things, the aim being to keep 
the calves plump while growth goes freely on without an extravagant 
outlay or an undue amount of forcing. Never let it be forgotten that 
for calves to thrive they must have shelter from cold and wet, and must 
always be kept thoroughly dry and comfortable. We recently saw a lot 
of calves in a tolerably snug hovel, with the bedding saturated with 
urine, upon which they had to lie down. Here was an instance of penny 
wise pound foolish practice, in calves running the risk of disease for the 
sake of avoiding necessary outlay upon the purchase of litter. This is 
one of several reasons which we have for wishing every dairy farmer to 
have enough arable land to produce straw, corn, and green crops for 
home requirements. 
Once again have six-week pigs become worth a pound, and they are 
likely to continue so for some time, as recent low prices led to the rash 
sale of so many breeding sows. This will brighten matters somewhat 
for home farmers who have many surplus litters to dispose of, but 
prudence foroids anything approaching a clearing of young swine stock. 
Though the season is so backward, harvest time will come round again, 
and due provision must be made for stubble feeding. A moderate surplus 
in each kind of live stock answers best at every home farm where the 
provision of a full and regular supply of produce for the wants of a 
large establishment is of primary importance. All else is comparatively 
a secondary matter. 
Butter should now be at its best both in colour and flavour, and close 
attention should be given to every detail in cow and dairy management, 
because negligence in any one thing may spoil the butter. Rigid 
cleanliness is the main thing, but it must affect everything. How 
frequently do we see clean milk pails taken into dirty cowhouses by 
dirty cowmen, to cows whose coats reek with filth ! Pure milk is an 
impossibility under such conditions, it is tainted by every foul thing 
near it, and to have the best possible results we must have pure air, 
pure water, wholesome food, with the cows and everything about them 
quite clean. At one time after complaints about butter supplied from 
home farm to house, we went to the dairy and dairywoman ; now we 
go to both dairy and cowhouse, making a point of being present fre¬ 
quently during the milking, as well as looking closely after other 
matters. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8/ 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day. 
Rain. 
1892. 
May. 
rrt 
-Sag 
0) cS ^ 
a ^'3 
o 
PQ C3 CZ2 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of soil 
at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday .. 15 
30-013 
56-1 
49-2 
S. 
52-0 
57-9 
43-0 
94-9 
36-6 
0-010 
Monday .. 16 
29-794 
64-4 
46-8 
S.W. 
51-0 
61-3 
43-9 
115-1 
' 37-0 
— 
Tuesday .. 17 
29-899 
56-8 
48-9 
N. 
50-3 
64-3 
47-9 
113-9 
42 3 
0-010 
Wednesday 18 
30-123 
57-8 
50-2 
S.W. 
51-9 
65-4 
46-5 
105-7 
40-6 
_ 
Thursday.. 19 
30-041 
56 7 
50-4 
w. 
52-2 
Gl-3 
43-6 
101-7 
41-4 
0-167 
Friday .. 20 
29.883 
59-3 
54-0 
w. 
52-0 
65-3 
51-2 
115-1 
44-6 
Saturday .. 21 
30-102 
54-8 
47-3 
N. 
51-9 
67-1 
42-3 
112-6 
36-1 
— 
29-979 
56-6 
49-5 
51-7 
63-2 
45-9 
1 
108-4 
, 
39-8 
0-187 
REMARKS. ' r,. 
15th.—Occasional sunshine, but generally overcast and showery. 
16th.—Windy, with alternate bright sunshine and slight showers. 
17th.—Generally fine and sunny, but a slight shower at 11 a.m. 
18th.—Cloudy almost throughout; occasional spots of rain in afternoon and evening. 
19th.—Sunny early; rainy from 11 a.m. to about 3 P.M., and heavy rain from 0.45 to 
1.45 P.M.; a little sun in afternoon. 
20th.—Overcast, with spots of rain early; fine day, with frequent sunshine. 
21st.—Pine and sunny throughout. 'X 
In almost all respects an average week for the time of year, A trifle cooler than 
the preceding week.—G. J. Symons. 
