360 Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
be one of the practical utilizations of that money to get some light 
on scientific data by which we could determine definitely whether 
salt was one of the best fertilizers, so that we need not go blunder¬ 
ingly to work to purchase fertilizers with uncertain data as to 
whether they are applicable to our case. It has been brought up 
very vividly to my mind. Men have bought whole car-loads of 
plaster without knowing whether it was of any benefit to their 
soils. As a general rule it is not applicable to the alluvial soils of 
the State. The question is, would not salt, or the refuse of salt¬ 
works, or some other fertilizer be applicable in that case. Are there 
evidences to determine whether gypsum would be the best fertilizer, 
or lime, salt, Peruvian guano, or super-phosphates. 
In this connection I would make a remark in relation to the 
plaster-beds of Iowa. The proprietor made the statement that 
their plaster was of superior quality to the Michigan. He gave as 
a reason that the stone was continuous, pure gypsum. That there 
was no foreign matter contained in it. He claimed that in the 
plaster-beds of Michigan the pure gypsum was worked up for 
other purposes than land-plaster; prepared for stucco-work, finish¬ 
ing walls, and only a second- or third-rate quality, a quality adul¬ 
terated by nature with flinty particles and clay, was used as land- 
plaster. In purchasing plaster for our land, we purchased a cer¬ 
tain amount of material of no more benefit to us than to shovel 
dirt from one place to another. He claims that all the plaster we 
get from Fort Dodge would be pure. It always has to be ground 
of a proper fineness to make it valuable to us in the proper time. I 
don’t know but it is better to sow some coarse and some fine. The 
finer it is ground the sooner do we reach the end of its benficial 
effect. It can be ground so fine that the fertilizing effect would be 
lost in one season. The coarser it is ground the longer its effects 
remain in the soil. I want to know whether fine grinding is a 
benefit or not. He claims he can grind it very fine from the fact 
that it only costs $2.50 a ton. The Patrons of Husbandry of this 
State have made a contract for one hundred or more car-loads, and 
have contracted with the railroads at certain rates, by which that 
plaster can be delivered across the State of Iowa and into Wis¬ 
consin, for considerable less price than they ask for the Michigan 
plaster. 
Mr. Whiting: Where will it strike the Mississippi? 
