in front
of my house, and I recollect that the N.Y. State Ag. Society awarded you
a prize of $75 for them."

"And I recollect," said I, "how you and some other neighbors laughed at
me for spending so much time in measuring the land and applying the
manures, and measuring the crop. But I wish I could have afforded to
continue them. A single experiment, however carefully made, can not be
depended on. However, I will give the results for what they are worth,
with some remarks made at the time:

"The soil on which the experiments were made, is a light, sandy loam. It
has been under cultivation for upwards of twenty years, and so far as I
can ascertain has never been manured. It has been somewhat impoverished
by the growth of cereal crops, and it was thought that for this reason,
and on account of its light texture and active character, which would
cause the manures to act immediately, it was well adapted for the
purpose of showing the effect of different manurial substances on the
corn-crop.

"The land was clover-sod, two years old, pastured the previous summer.
It was plowed early in the spring, and harrowed until in excellent
condition. The corn was planted May 23, in hills 3-1/2 feet apart each
way.

"The manures were applied in the hill immediately before the seed was
planted.

"With superphosphate of lime, and with plaster (gypsum, or _sulphate of
lime_), the seed was placed directly on top of the manure, as it is well
known that these manures do not injure the germinating principle of even
the smallest seeds.

"The ashes were dropped in the hill, and then covered with soil, and the
seed planted on the top, so that it should not come in contact with the
ashes.

"Guano and sulphate of ammonia were treated in the same way.

"On the plots where ashes and guano, or ashes and sulphate of ammonia
were both used, the ashes were first put in the hill, and covered with
soil, and the guano or sulphate of ammonia placed on the top, and also
covered with soil before the seed was planted. The ashes and
superphosphate of lime was also treated in the same way. It is well
known that unleached ashes, mixed either with guano, sulphate of
ammonia, or superphosphate, mutually decompose each other, setting free
the ammonia of the guano and sulphate of ammonia, and converting the
soluble phosphate of the superphosphate of lime into the insoluble form
in which it existed before treatment with sulphuric acid. All the plots
were pl