re born; and if you will
come into the house, I will show you a silver goblet I got for a prize
essay on the use of superphosphate of lime, that I wrote more than a
quarter of a century ago. I sent to New York for two tons of guano, and
published the result of its use on this farm, before you were out of
your cradle. And I had a ton or more of superphosphate made for me in
1856, and some before that. I have also used on this farm, many tons of
superphosphate and other artificial manures from different
manufacturers, and one year I used 15 tons of bone-dust."

With ready tact, he turned the tables on me by saying: "Now I can
understand why your land is improving. It is because you have used
superphosphate and bone-dust. Order a few tons."

By employing agents of this kind, the manufacturers have succeeded in
selling the farmers of Western New York thousands of tons of
superphosphate. Some farmers think it pays, and some that it does not.
We are more likely to hear of the successes than of failures. Still
there can be no doubt that superphosphate has, in many instances, proved
a valuable and profitable manure for wheat in Western New York.

From 200 to 300 lbs. are used per acre, and the evidence seems to show
that it is far better to _drill in the manure with the seed_ than to sow
it broadcast.

My own opinion is, that these superphosphates are not the most
economical artificial manures that could be used for wheat. They contain
too little nitrogen. Peruvian guano containing nitrogen equal to 10 per
cent of ammonia, would be, I think, a much more effective and profitable
manure. But before we discuss this question, it will be necessary to
study the results of actual experiments in the use of various
fertilizers for wheat.

CHAPTER XXVII.

LAWES AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT.

I hardly know how to commence an account of the wonderful experiments
made at Rothamsted, England, by John Bennett Lawes, Esq., and Dr. Joseph
H. Gilbert. Mr. Lawes' first systematic experiment on wheat, commenced
in the autumn of 1843. A field of 14 acres of rather heavy clay soil,
resting on chalk, was selected for the purpose. Nineteen plots were
accurately measured and staked off. The plots ran the long way of the
field, and up a slight ascent. On each side of the field, alongside the
plots, there was some land not included, the first year, in the
experiment proper. This land was either left without manure, or a
mixture o