Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1871-03-31
5niseellanu.
Westminster Farmers Club,
FERTrLIzERs-AN ADDRESS BY j. LA


RENEE.
MARCH 9th. PRESIDENT have thu
honor of introducing to you Mr.. J. F
Lawrence of Epping, n. H., who dis
claims the publicity of being a public
lecturer, asking no compensation for hi
services neither will receive from US ever
his railroad fare upon this occasion, bu
will participate in the colloquial discus
sion of the evening upon the subjec
named, fertilizers.
j. f. Lawrence.-M President, La
dies and Gentleman Having the privi
lege this afternoon of riding over somt
OF your fine country, viewing your neat
ly arranged buildings, and looking upor
your beautiful farms spread over this de
lightful valley. Inow appear before you
this evening, by the kind invitation o.
your president, to give you my ideas o.
manures, their value, purchase and ap
plication and | shall make no apology al
this time. Born and bred farmer moi
only, but a laborer ON farm, prefer to
give you my ideas upon the subject OF
manures, without fear or favor, and with.
out the logic or rhetoric deemed SO es
sential by many were they occupying NJ
position before you tonight.
am aware also, that in giving you my
ideas, which are The results of my expe.
rience, that | shall NEE. with opposition
from gentleman here, whose views are en-
tiled to great consideration, nevertheless
| believe the same system of farming will
do equally we'll for others as for myself
In saying what / may hereafter in ia.
vor of composted manures and special
fertilizers, do not desire to be under.
stood, as placing but little value on sta.
bic manures.
do not believe all the ingenuity OF
nan, will ever discover or concoct any,
thing SO thoroughly suited to every vari.
ETY. of soil, as pure unmixed from the
barnyards, when properly preserved, and
applied, but knowing our entire inability
to sustain the primative fertility of our
soils with this alone, it then becomes us
to inquire for some substitute or addition
to restore our farms to their original
fertility. England cot only, but all the
civilized countries, of the other continents
century ago, felt the necessity of this
requirement, and began TO look around
themselves for something to supply this
want. 1t was found that the constant
breeding of cattle for centuries and rails
ing Of the immense crops necessary to
sustain their crowded population, had
taken from the soil before they were
aware of it, those elements so indispensi-
BILE to successful farming.
During the last half of the eighteenth
century, the agricultural statistics OF
Great Britain will show fearful decrease
of their crops of all kinds per acre, from
those Of century previous, although to-
day their statistics will show an amount
of crops greater per acre than were ever
raised upon the green fields of either
British Isle, even before their primitive
fertility was in the least exhausted
England today is spreading upon her
fields, fertilizers from every section of the
world. One ship is bringing her guano
from the Peruvian coast for her hoed crops
and grain. Another is bringing her fish
crop from the fisheries. while the whole
world is field wherein she is collecting
bones, to return to her soil the phosphates
long and careless system of farming had
extracted from it. In an agricultural
sense, England il herself agsin, and it il
a shame and a disgrace to us if we cannot
profit by her history, and not wait until
we are in the condition she was century
ago. before we avail ourselves of ali the
means within our power to keep our soil
as fertile certainly as when transmitted
to US by our fathers.
1t is not necessary for US to wait, and
be obliged to import these elements to re.
store our lands, for if we will but labor
intelligently, and carefully, save and use
the elements within our power to reach.
we can save our noble country, andmake