FOOD OF PLANTS, AND HOW THEY TAKE IT. Ill 
which is rather startling in its first enunciation, but one which 
is founded in fact and which is incontrovertible, if we admit 
that manure is plant-food, though the mechanical effect of 
some kinds of manure would not be had by their ashes alone. 
Now it a fair inference that all of these several substances 
are intentionally introduced into the plants for some wise 
purpose, not merely for man’s use, but for the well-being of 
the plants themselves, to which, indeed, they are necessary 
parts, and that if a plant cannot procure all of the various 
substances needed for its perfect development, it must fail to 
produce its highest result, as we invariably find to be the case. 
The farmers about Philadelphia (many years ago) thought 
they were doing the very best practice, when they pur¬ 
chased and brought back to their farms a large load of 
manure, for every load of produce w’hich they sold and took 
away from the soil; they also thought it was best to feed as 
many animals as they could supply on the farm for the sake 
of making as much barn-yard manure as possible. In this 
they were right: they had a just appreciation of that most 
valuable material, but in their application of this manure 
they did not act so wisely as they might now do—they were 
guided by a limited and erring experience , not by science. 
The w heat crop was looked upon as the source of revenue 
in consequence of the nature of their lands; and a long- 
continued course of bad farming robbing the soil of some of 
its necessary elements, this crop had been reduced to the 
minimum amount of profitable culture, often below this : 
hence the very natural conclusion of these improving agri¬ 
culturists w T as to manure their wheat crops. They were 
delighted with the results; the yield went on steadily in¬ 
creasing to a certain point; but they found at the same time 
that the amount of grain was increased, they were having 
a larger growth of straw T , w r hich did not stand up well, and 
they w r ere subjected to losses from many diseases not before 
incident to the crop, and thus their hopes w T ere often blasted. 
Somebody suggested that as he had observed this effect did 
not occur in a place where lime abounded in the soil, this 
substance might exert a beneficial influence. It was used 
with the happiest results, but they continued the bad practice 
of applying manure to the w r heat crop—bad for tw r o reasons. 
1st.—The w heat was sold off the farm and did not yield 
any return, as w r ould have been the case with other crops, and 
from this observation was deduced the axiom and practice of 
a few best farmers —never apply yard manure to man crops , but 
always to the cattle crops; the latter, being increased in amount, 
enable the farmer to feed more largely, and thus to produce 
more of the fertilising material for the renovatidn of the soil. 
