f time. When
this crop was growing, my father, a good practical farmer, but with
little faith in chemical manures, paid me a visit. We went to the
experimental wheat-field. The first two plots, 0 and 1, had been
dressed, the one with superphosphate, the other with potash, soda, and
magnesia. My father did not seem much impressed with this kind of
chemical manuring. Stepping to the next plot, where 14 tons of barn-yard
manure had been used, he remarked, "this is good, what have you here?"

"Never mind," said I, "we have better crops farther on."

The next plot, No. 3, was the one continuously unmanured. "I can beat
this myself," said he, and passed on to the next. "This is better," said
he, "what have you here?"

"Superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia."

"Well, it is a good crop, and the straw is bright and stiff."--It turned
out 30 bushels per acre, 63 lbs. to the bushel.

The next six plots had received very heavy dressings of ammonia-salts,
with superphosphate, potash, soda, and magnesia. He examined them with
the greatest interest. "What have you here?" he asked, while he was
examining 5_a_, which afterwards turned out 37-1/4 bushels per
acre. --"Potash, soda, epsom-salts, superphosphate, and ammonia--but it
is the ammonia that does the good."

He passed to the next plot, and was very enthusiastic over it. "What
have you here?" --"Rape-cake and ammonia," said I. --"It is a grand
crop," said he, and after examining it with great interest, he passed to
the next, 6_a_. --"What have you here?" --"Ammonia," said I; and at 6_b_
he asked the same question, and I replied "ammonia." At 7_a_, the same
question and the same answer. Standing between 7_b_ and 8_a_, he was of
course struck with the difference in the crop; 8_a_ was left this year
without any manure, and though it had received a liberal supply of
mineral manures the year before, and minerals and ammonia-salts, and
rape-cake, the year previous, it only produced this year, 3-1/2 bushels
more than the plot continuously unmanured. The contrast between the
wheat on this plot and the next one might well interest a practical
farmer. There was over 15 bushels per acre more wheat on the one plot
than on the other, and 1,581 lbs. more straw. Passing to the next plot,
he exclaimed "this is better, but not so good as some that we have
passed." --"It has had a heavy dressing of rape-cake," said I, "equal
to about 100 lbs. of ammonia per acre, and the next plot was manured