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What the Land Needs How to Uie Farmyard Manure and the Artificial Fertilizers " "To hold what we have"â€" that is why the British Empire and Can- ada is at war witih Germany. Pro- gressive farmers will follow a aimi- lar line of action in regard t-o the fertility of tl»eir soils. Loss of fer- tility cannot be prevented, hut by a proper rotation and the use of farmyard manure and artificial fertilizers tl>« fertility of the soil can be maintained at that level that will give the maximum profit from the crop« that are produced. Some of our agriculturail advisers aeem to think tliat the farmer should spend a lot of momey in in- creasing the potential supply of plant food in his soil for the benefit of future generations. Regarding tluK one is very apt to ask, like the Irishman when he was told to think of posterity, "What has posterity done for me!" This is a very na- tural feeling, but there is no doubt that on the majority of farms it will be profitable for the present own- ers to not only replace, but even intrease the fertility that is taken out of the soil by the crops. No Hard and Fast Rule. It is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules as to how one should fertilize one's soil. So much de- pends on the fertility of the eoil, lU phyaical condition, the climate, tie nearness of markets, and nu- merous other factors. As a rule, however, the higlier priced the land the better it will pay to use artifi- cial fertilizers. Thus it probably would not pay to use fertilizers out West on land that i» only worth fifteen dollars an acre, but it would very likely pay very we'll to use tliem on land in Eastern Can- ada tliat is worth eeventy-five or one hundred dollars an acre, even if the latter were more fertile. In deahng witli fertilizers one iias to consider the kind of crop that it is desired to grow. Thus wheat, which ii> a deep-rooted crop and most often sown in the fall, is able to get from the Hoil the mineral 0(»nt>tituents â€" the phosphoric acid and potaahâ€" it requires; but un- Jeiis the land has been well manur- ed for the previous crop, it is bene- fited by a top dressing of nitrogen. Oats and barley, on the other hand, are challow-pootcd crops, and can- not make such good use of the min- eral matter in the soil, and they are Bpecially l)enefited by an applica- tion of .s*>ine mineral fertilizer. Hoots and corn are gross feeders, and do best when lots of farmyard manure is used. Corn' and turnips bI.ho respond well to a liberal ap- plication of some phosphatic ma- nure, such as l>a.=ic slag <)r a<Md pllo^phate, Mangels, on the otlier harMl. require lots of nitrogen and potiisli. and therefore farmyard mnniiri' and wood ashes or sx)nie other .source of pt)tash, should form the cliief inanurt" here. The siiil hnsaleo to be considered, and will modify and alter our methods of fertilizing. Thus clay BoiU are rich in potash, but often deficient in phosphoric acid. Suii- pose we are goinK t^i grow a crop of mangels on a .soil of thus type. Muiigels, as has been said, rerjuirK â-  Ijlieral supply of nitrogen and potaMh. Lots of farnivard manure will be require<l to .supply the nitro- gen, but no potash fertilizer will be required, as the soil already lias ^•n nbundanpe of this constituent. If wf were grc^wing mangels on Home sandy soils, which are often deficient in both potash and phos- phoric acid, aji extra am >unt of p<itasli would have to be used, and Borne phosphatic fertilizer as well, though, as a rule, phosphatic fer- tilizers are not required on man- gels. 'Kiius llie kind of crop grown and Uic nature of the soil have to he taken into ccmsideration before we ran use fertilizerM to the best ad- v.'intiige. As nn example of how the type of Roil and the original st^ite of its fer- tility modifies tlie methixl of treat- InK the ."-oil, it was found that in the filatc of N'ew Jersey, when corn was grown on good, loamy soil, that phosphoric acid and potasih, were of much more importance than nitro- gen On the f-andy soils, however, nitr<>g<-ii and |>otn»h were of nsla- tively more importance than phos- phoric a<'id. Corn, as has been sai<l, >H a <-.rop that, as a rule, requires nitrogen and phosphoric acid more than (>irtii.<^h. T';c peculiarities of the <iiff<'rent Lirni crops a.s re^gardis fertilizer iv- quiriuents and the eleniwitjj of fer- tility that are most likely to be de- ficient in the various types of lioilH have been dnmlt witli in reeent is- sues of Till" ('t)uiitryinian. The dif- ferent fertilizers have also been de- MTibed and tllieiir propertieA aiui ef feet di.scu,s.s(!d. It but remains noiw to oo^nsider how tlieso fertilizers can be most profitably unetl in ordi- n»ry farm pnwt.ice. In di»;ailing wit.h the application of fertilizf^rs to <;rops, no <ronclu»ioiis can he drawn n« to tihe proper methods of manuring unless the place tilie crop oocupies in the rota- tion is taken into a<--count and also the <^iaracter of the land and the ntyh' of farming considered. On wume of the rich soils of tihe prairie provinces, where the wheat crop takes about t.hirty five pounds of niitrogen j>er a<'re from the noil «n- nually. nilrog<?n is being lost through cultivation at the rate of seventy pounds a year. These soils at present are very fertile, and fertilizers would be thrown away on them ; but in a few ye.ars' time tliey will become so depleted that manure will have to be used if anything like a profitable crop is going to be grown. But just now land in these sections is so cheap tllfet it pays better to grow wheat after wheat without adding any kind of manure at all, and then, when the soil reaches a oeirtain stage of exhaustion, to move off to new land. But in ordinary farm practice we have to consider no* only the particular requirements 1 of the crop and soil with which we are dealing, but also, as lias been said, its place in the rotation. For example, if we are dealing with w<he»t we have to take into con- sideration what crop it is grown after, as this will affect the ferti- lizer whicth would be appropriate for it. Coming after oati, the ier- tilizer required would not be the same as if it followed clover. Furthermore, one man raiay have good land in high condition and be farming high for big crops ; while another man, who is perhaps an equally good farmer, may have poorer land where it may be more economical to be content with lower yields and less expenditure. The manuring must be considered as a whole, as a systean to be shaped as much by the widely-varying condi- tions of cost of production, mar- kets, and condition of soil as by the requirements of the crop itself. Fertilizers, as a rule, do not pay as well on land that is in a poor state of preparation as on land that is in nice, fine condition. The amount of labor available, then, is an important consideration in the question as to how far it i»> profit- able to use fertilizers. SystemH of Fertllizatiun. Various systems of fertilization have been recommended â€" most of them with some useful points. One system is to add a large excess of the mineral elements of fertility â€" phosphoric acid, potash and lime â€" and add nitrogen in small doses as it is required by the crop. As we pay in commercial fertilizers about three times as much for nitrogen as for the mineral substances, it is claimed that this system will be very economica'l, as by applying 1 the nitrogen as top dressing just at the time the plant can make most use of it a great saving in the fertilizer bill will be effect«il. Be- sides, as the clovers and legumi- nous crops are especially depen- dent on the mineral elements, large croi>v, of these will be obtained, and this will result in the further en- richment of the soil, in the nitro- gen obtained from the air. This system could be used to good advantage where phosphates and potash can be obtained cheaply, as in some parts of the States, but with prices as they are in Canada at the pre.s<'nt time it is very doubt- ful if it could be worked pr<ifitably. An<)ther .system that has been ad- vocated is to apply fertilizer heavi- ly to the chief money cropâ€" such as potatoes or w'heat. The other crops in the rotation are dependent on the residue^s left in the soil after the chief crop has been taken off. A system that is too often follow- ed is-.to use an Irishimn â€" no sys- tem at all. Fertilizers arc applied haphazard without any regard as to the nature of the crop or the c<jndi- tion of tHie .soil at the time they are ajjplied, Ville of France was one of the first to put forth any ideas concern- ing systems of fertilization, and his teachings are the basis of all suc- cesisful use of fertilizers at the pre- sent day. His idea was that for all plants tilie re was a certain element of fertility that wias more necessary than the others for the Miceessful growth of the pla.nt. This lie called the dominant ingredient. Thus nitrogen is the dominant in gredieiit for wheat, oats, barley, rye, mangelfi and meadow land. I'liosplioi-ic acid is the dominant in- gre<licnt for turnips and corn . Pot- ash is llie donlinant ingredient for clover, jiutatixw and (lax. This idea <^if <l<)niiiiant ingredients is a per- fectly soiin<l one, and is found to work Dill in practice pretty well. Iinporf.iiHe of Leeiinieft. In the <pl<ler parts of Canada farming cannot l)e carrie<l on «uc- ccissfnlly without a iiropcr Bvsteni of rotali<iiis. Clo\er or s«ime <itiher leguminous crop has to be used somewhere in the cycle, and usuailly the jMiorer the land is the oftener a Irgiiininous <rop will he iiitro(liice<l. .At Ilothaimsled in J'lnglaiHl wili/re e.vperiments with fertilizers u.sed in Citation of wheat, roots, barley nn<l clover have been going on for the last sixty years, it iian been shown that a yieU! of forty-one buHhelsof wheat and thirty bucheils of barley can be nvninta.ined where the mineral elenrents are supplied ami «her<' the roots are fe<l on the I.'uhI. Where no clover wn* grown but a hare fallow lined inhteiul the yield of wheat <lrnippcd t<> thirty- two busheLs nnd that <if barley to .s(>ventei'n bushels. This shows the effect of clovM on- the yields cjf the other crops, and the cfTecl wotiUl have been still more striking if instead of tJie bwe fallow a non-l*guminous crop had been grown. A two-ton crop of clover hay will add fifty pounds oi nitrogen per acre to the soil. In commercial fertilizers this nitrogen would oost about ten dollars. Growing clover is a cheap way to enrich the soil and get an increase in the yields of the otlier crops. The eastern part of Canada is chiefly a stotrk country. It is very seldom that one crop is grown year after year, as is done in the prairie provinces with wheat, and in the corn belt of the States with corn. In the older provinces a ro- tation is followed more or less sys- tematically and live stock are kept to a greater or leas extent. Amount uf Fertility Removed. In considering a system of ferti- lization for our farm it is well to see how much fertility is removed by the crops. On a farm following a four-course rotation of wheat, roots, oats and clover where these crepe yield thirty bushels of wheat, fifteen tons of roots, forty busheks of oats and two tons of clover hay, and where only the grain i.s sold off the farm, the annual loss of fer- tility would be about 30' pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phospl.oric acid and 6 pounds of potash. Fifty pound* of nitrogen per acre would be added to the soil by the two tona of clover hay. This is somewhat more than is removed from the soil by the crops, but there are other ways in which nitrogen is lost, such as by bac- terial action and oxidation, so that it is rather difficult to say with cert.ainty just how much nitrogen is really lost. From Rothamsted results we may conclude that in such a .system as this â€" where only tlie grain is fed off the farm and a leguminous crop is included i^n the rotation â€" that the soil would just about be maintained at the same level of fertility as i-egards nitro- gen. If three hundre<l pounds of acid phosphate or ba.sic slag per acre were used somewhere in the rotation, preferably on the root crop, all the losses of phosphoric acid would be made good, and with soils containing a fair amount of clay, the weathering of the soil and the consequent liberation of potash may be relied upon to make up any loss in potash. Thirty bushels of wheat and forty bushels of oats to the acre is not a very high average to aim for. As has been said, we may expect to maintain an average of thirty bushels of wheat and forty bushels of oats to the a<'re by feeding everything produced on the farm, except the grain, where clover is included in the rotation, and once every four years three hundred pounds of acid phosphate is ap- plied. But this is not a very high average to aim at. It is the man that doeis an ordinary day's work "and then s<>me" that gets on in this world, and it is the ina.n that grows an average crop "and then some" that is making money on the farm. It is the "and then some" part of the crop that usually pro- duces tlie profit. Fertilizers in Ordinary I'riicliee. The following system of fertiliza tion is adapted for soils in fair con- dition, and where the conditioms of markets and labor are such as are found in Eastern Canada, to-day. It is taken for granted tluit live stock is kept on the farm and tliat a fair amount of farmyard manure is produced. For purix)ses of illustration it is assumed that a five-year rotation of corn or roots, " oats or barley, wheat,, hay and pasture is follow- ed. When the wheat is seeded down 't is presmmed that at least half of the grass mixture will con- sist of tho clover. Corn is a gross feeder and there- fore can use a lot of nitrogen to advantage. It also requires a fair amount of phospilw>ric acid. After pasture when the sod is plowed up in the fall and .the action of the frost allowed to act on it all win- ter, the land will be in very g(M)d sha.jie for the corn crop. Part of the farmyar<l manure should have been applied in the fall or hauled out during the wiater. In the spring all the fertihzer that will be required to give a good crop will be 200 poundis to tlie aore of acid phosphate, or basic slag. When turnips follow pasturage a good dressing of manure should be applied, as before indicated, and 260 pounds of some ph<jisphatic fer- tilizer applied. Maingele require abundance of nitrogen and a good Biupply of potasili, so that a liberal application of farmyard manure should be made as before, and 200 or 300 ix>unds of wood ashes ap- plied in the spring as soon as pos- sible to supply the pota^. A top dre<9ising of 150 pounds of equal parts of nitrate of soda an<I salt will be useful afterwards as a top dressing, more especially if the farmyard manure is not plentiful. Fertilizers For Grain Crops. In the second year when oats or barley are grown the land wiiM be in good uhape from the residues of the manures applied to the roots or corn and from the cultivation these crops received. These crops are specially dependent on phos- phoric acid, however, so a light application of 150 pounds of some phosphatic manure sihould be ap- plied. For barley no nitrogenous manure should be used, as it will very likely spoil the quality of the grain, but for the oats fifty pounds of ammonium sulphate per acre ap- plied with the phoyphatic manure will increase the yield. The third year, when wheat is grown, the soil has become some- what depleted by the former crops and the remainder of the farmyard manure should be applied after the land has been plowed. In the spring, if the wheat does not seem to be coming along well, a mixture of equal parts of ammonium sul- phate and nitrate of soda should be applied at the rate of 100 pounds to the acre. Immediately the wheat is har- vested lOU pounds per acre of some phosphatic manure and some pot- assic manure that will supply 30 pounds of p<jtaslh per acre should be applied. The clovers are able to get their nitrogen from the air and are more especially in need of tho mineral substances. By understanding tlie special ma- nuriat requirements of the different OPops and taking into considera- tion the kind and condition of the 8<.>il on which these crops are grown and the position of tiie crop in tIhe rotation farmyard manure and artificial fertilizers can be used with prrjfit. By ai>pl.ving them as indicated above and knowing the requirements of the different crops the crop yield may be increased anywhere from 15 to 50 pH'r cent. â€" Dan McKee, B.S..\., in Canadian Countryman. Telephone u.s Hospital Aid. Those of you who regard the tele- phone merely as an instrument for conversation will be surprised at a recent article in the British Medical .Tournal by Sir James Davisson. It describes the method of locating bullets by telephone, which is su perseding X-rays. To one end of the telephone wire is attached a small jiiece of platin- um placed upon any part of the pa- tient's skin, which is moistened with salt w.ater; the other end of the telephcme wire, in the form of a dis- infected thread of silver, is attach- ed to the surgeon's instruments, such as knife, prolie, needle or for- ceps. The surgeon then attaches the telephone receiver to his ear and begins to use the instruments upon the patient's tissues. He will hear with great distinctness the charac- teristic microphonic rattle the in- stant the instrument touches any- metal imbedded in the patient's tis- sue. HiniilurUy. "Bragson makes me think of a river." 'Where's the «imilarity ?'' "When a river's head is RwoJlen you are made aware of the fact by its mouth." Selwted Recipes. This is a good recipe for cheese puffs : In a saucepan of boiling water melt two tablespoonfuls of butter. When the water and but- ter ere boiling, stir into them four tablespoonfuls of flour, wet with oold water, and four tablespoonfuls of grated cheese. Cook for three minutes, stirring all the time, lie- move from the fire, and when the mixture is oold add two eggs and beat hard for 15 minutes. Line a baking dish with greased paper and drop the mixture upon it, a spoon- ful at a time, leaving ample space between each puff for the swelling caused by baking. When puffed up and brown they are done and must be eaten at once. When making toast it improves it both in ta&te and digestibility if the slices of bread are laid in the oven for a little while before toasting them. They will toast better and more evenly for the advance treat- ment. To make chicken croquettes take some cold chicken. Which ihoidd be cut from the bone and minced fine, then season with salt, pepj>er and juice of a lemon. Let this stand one hour, then make a batter of two eggs to a pint of milk, a little salt, and flour enough to make a batte^ not too stiff. Stir the chicken in this and drop it by s|K)onfuls in boiling fat. Fry brown, drain and serve. These toasted cheese wafers are very nice for the afternoon tea ta- ble: Get the round soda crackers ; with a thim knife split them in half and put them for a moment in cold water ; remove from the water and place in a buttered pan. Dot with bits of butter and put in hot oven until a golden brown. Then sprin- kle grated cheese over each wafer and replace in the oven until the cheese is slightly melted. Serve while (hot. Sweet potatoes stuffed and glazed form a tempting dish. Cut baked sweet potatoes and mash ; return to the siheila ; boil one-fourtJi cupful of molasses and one level table- spoonful of butter together for three minutes. Brush the tops of the potatoes with this syrup, and put them back into a quick oven to brown. If properly done there should be a rich golden glaze over the top. Mock terrapin, a tasty luncheon dish, may be made from cold calves' liver or from roast beef. Make a roux of two teaspoonfuls of butter and two teaspoonfuls of flour, and then add two cupfuls of gravy or two cupfuls of soup stock. Let the mixture boil up once and theji add four cupfuls of oold moat, cut in cubes, and simmer slowly for halt an hour. Season highly, adding a littJe cider or sherry, if one wish- es. Pou'r on a hot platter and garnish with four bard-boiled eggs sliced. The real Sinitch scone is made wit.h buttermilk as follows : Put a pound of flour into a basin and make a hole in the middle of it ; put in a teaspooful of soda and lialf a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, then pour in a pint of buttermilk, or enough to mix to the constitu- ency of common dough ; roll out to the thickness of an .inch; cut the sconcks out with a tumbler; place on a buttered and warmed griddle, and bake and turn until nicely browned on both .sides. Clear soup is a stimulant rather than nutriment, and should be served either with a substantial dinner or have added to it such nourishing food as a poached egg. The egg may be pt)aohe<l in some of the soup, put ttn toast in the bottom of the isoup plate and tlie clear .soup poured about it. The first essentiail in soup-making from meat is to draw out ijie juices of the meat and retain the flavor. The former is aivomplisihed by put- ROYAL MADE IN CANADA > /MAKES PERFECT BREAD YEAST ting the meat â€" cut in small pieces and tihe bonos sawed or broken â€" to cook in cold water. A good fla- vor is obtained by slow cookiag. Never boil but simmer for several hours, the length of time depending upon the meat to be cooked. The meat should cook to pieces and be- con»e colorless. The 'egetables may be cooked with the meat and stock if enough time is given them so that they do not boil during cooking. Gelatin things are always good when nuade right. Here is a good dessert recipe: Milk, one quart; gelatin, one ounce ; flavoring, two heaping tablespoonfuls ; white su- gar, three-quarters of a cupful^ One quart of milk, one ounce of gelatin, a tablespoonful of almond flavoring, with a tablespoonful of rose water, three-fourths of a cup of white sugar ; heat the milk to boiling, turn in the gelatin, which should have been previously soak- ed for an hour in a cup of the milk ; add the flavoring and stir all toge- ther 10 minutes before putting in the sugar, .^.s soon as the gelatin has dissolved, remove from the fire, strain through a thin muslin bag, wet a mold with cold water, pour the blanc mange into and set in a oold place till solid. I'sefiil Hints. Gr&!« stains on any material can be removed if moistened with a so- lution of chlorate of tin, and them washed immediately in plenty of cold water. It is wise always to keep a bottle of this solution. If the stained article cannot be wash- ed, then alcohol must be used. Flowers wither quickly in the heat, but 'a small piece of camhpor in the water will keep them fresh much longer. F'reckles, if objected to, can be removed by taking a quarter of a drachm of powdered borax, half a drjvchni of sugar, and one ounce of lenwjn-juice, mixing thoroughly, a.nd letting the mixture stand for two or three days in a l)ottle to clear. Dab <m the face three time« daily, and th.e freckles will go. Cakes get very dry in warm wea- ther, but if placed in a tin box with ' an apple, ttvey will ko?p moist. Renew the apple when witliered The cake will not "taste." Rain sixits on clotli need not be regarded hojveleasly. Wipe off tlie way of the nap with a silk handker- chief or very soft brush. If this be done quickly, no marks will remain. Soup quickly goes sour in the warm days, but it will keep sweet if a pintjli of carbonate of soda is adilod to every quart. Sunburn is not be<H»ming, but it can be removed by watdving the face in warm water in which a lenmn lias been .squeezed and a pinoh of borax added. F'ruit stains are very ''springish.'' To remove tlicm from white mater- ial, boil milk and hold the stained part in it for a minute. C>n line»n appdy powdered starch at onoo, and leave for a few hours. Hot aaid stuffy ro<im« can be made cool and fresh by suspending a sSveet wrung out in cold water over the open doorway. If a visitor ctmies it can be renwved in two se- ocunds, .ind your friend will surely remark h<iw deliciously cool your room is. Perspiration â€" excessive â€" is a ' trial to many. Extreme cleanli- ' nc88, ami dusting with p^iwderexl boracic acid mixed with fine p'.aroh i« the best preventive. Face feeling is another warm- weather trouble. To prevent t.his beginning, lightly nib the face be- fore going out witjli a little fresLh or>»«im. At nigtt rub in a little gcKid oo^d oriXJ.m. Untidy hair is, of course, nioire notioeab'l? in sunny, hatleas day» than in winter. The following will roiU'Iy keep yvmr hair in ourl. You ' could make it yourself, hut if you hand th." recipe to a ohemist he will ' do it quite cheaply. Carb. of pot- arth, one drac'hin; powd. cx>chineal, " ha3f a draohoii; liquid of ammonia,* one draohm ; oseenc^e «if rose, ono <lnu3hm ; glycerine, a quarter of an' oiinoe ; pe<.'t. spirit, one and a half, ounces; distilled water, eaglite-en oiiiioes. Mix well, leave ft>r a week, frequen.tly stir, and t<hen fil tor thr<iugh fine muslin. Moisten the hair wltii it while dressing. Sunstroke. ~- Cold-water rags aliould be applied U> the head, whidh slnnild be kept well raispcd. Clothing should be removed from the neck and chest. No stinuilant-s must be given. Thr Kicycio \h IM.iying a Rig Part In the Whp. A (ierninn bicycle squad carrying their wheels <.\or an embankment in Poland. TJvo bicvc of the German army ihiis proved to be nu»st efliei.-nt. The swiits can move about from place quickly and alniosrt as much equipment can be carried a.s on a horse. le corps to pliK-e For bank messengers and others who carry large sums of jnoney in tli.:> streets an inventor has design- ed a special hand'bag, in. the handle of whioh a revolver is cooceailed. ^ 4<ai . .dUMf