Fireside Science; A Series of Popular Scientific Essays Upon Subjects Connected with Every-Day Life (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1872. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... FARM EXPERIMENTS AT LAKESIDE. XN commencing a series of farm experiments in 1863, with the view of deciding some controverted points of much importance to the interests of husbandry, it was felt that no satisfactory results could be reached in less period of time than four or five years. The matter of time in all farm experiments, in my view, was of the highest importance, and therefore it was resolved to make no extended statements, and venture upon no conclusions, until the experiments had been carried through several successive seasons. So far as I could learn, there were some interesting problems in agriculture which had never been satisfactorily solved in New England, or, in fact, in any section of our country. It seemed desirable to ascertain, approximately at least, by careful and extended experiment, the value of special or chemical fertilizing agents upon our New England soils, and in order to test this matter satisfactorily, it was clear that the experiments must be conducted upon a scale of considerable magnitude. If it was proved that a neglected, exhausted farm, embracing a variety of soils, with uplands and lowlands, could be brought into fair tilth by the use of special agents, it would serve as an important fact in the history of our agricultural industry; and further, if it could be done at a cost which would prove it to be practicable and remunerative, certainly great service would be conferred upon our farming interests. The "Lakeside" farm, of about one hundred acres, which I purchased seven years since, was not what might be considered a worthless or barren tract; for some portions of it, a quarter of a century ago, were probably in fair condition, producing crops of hay and grain corresponding with those grown by the farmers of tha...