S$ N O P S I S .

PAG E S

Th e Nee d s of M o dern F ar ming 1-5

Avail a bl e P la nt Foo d The K ey; Anal ys is o f S oil No Gui de ;
Wh at P l a nts Nee d ; The I norgani c El e m e nts .

Th e Essent ia l Ele m e nt s of Pl an t F ood 6 13

N itrogen the F irst E le m e nt ; S ources a nd Nee d o f Phosphori c
Ac i d the Secon d E lem ent ; S ource s a nd Need o f C om o s it io n o f
B one ; What is a Cata l yz er ; Four Form s o f hospha t e ;

G ro un d Phos p ha t es ; B as i c S l a g Phos p ha te s ; P ota s h the Third

E le m e nt S ource s a nd Nee d o f ; Li m e Occ as i onal ly Nee ded fo
'

S our S oils ; H ow and When t o Apply

,

The Bulk I n F er t iliz er s

14 17
Wha t M akes up a Ton ; The Bulk in M anure ; D ryers a nd C on

d it io ner s ; H ow t o S ecure $ a l ue in F erti li zers ; C ontra ct o f

$

Se llers.

Chem ica lly M ixe d Fert ilizer s vs Dry M ix ed an d H om e M ixed 182 1

.

Chemical B lending; Why Fertilizers are B ought ; Availability and

Mecha ni cal Con di tion ; B a lance d a nd S p ec ia l i zed Fertili zers ;
Wha t t o Avoi d ; Crop I ns urance .

Th e $ a st of t h e S oil or S oil B a c t er ia
e
2227
H ow One Or der of Li fe H e l ps Another ; Nit r if ng a nd D e nitrify
'

ing Or anis ms ; The M o dern E x la na t io n of om pos t in D rai n

a g e an Culti vation ; The Sap o the Soil ; H ow Enr iche Poten
ti a l Ferti lit y ; Am ount of Pl ant Foo d in S oi l ; The Little B a la nce .

S t ab le M anur e and C omm er c ia l Fe rtilizer s C om par e d 28 -29

Wei ht and Com position o f Ma nure ; $ a lue of H um us ; M anure
s i ck a nd ; C ount C ost bef ore Buyi ng M a nure .

Int ensive Far m ing 3032

Wha t They are D oing in Europe ; W ha t We a re D oi ng a t
Hom e ; Pl ant Food Supp l y .

Th e A pp lic a t i o n o f F e r t il iz e r s
33 3 5
Best $ esults on Wel l-Prepa re d Land ; $ a lue o f Wee ds ; Cul t i va
tion Enriches Soil ; $ e duce Acre age a nd I nte ns i fy Tre atm ent ;
$ e duce U ni t Co s t .

Gen e r a l D ir e ctions 3 5 -38

Broa dcast ; Pa rt Broa dcast a nd Pa rt in B il l or D rill ; H i1] a nd
D rill A plication ; Fre q uent App li cations ; Where t o Use M a nure
a nd W ere t o Use F ertil izers .

S pe ci c D ir ect ions 394 9

Fo r P ota toe s ; C o rn Sm a l l Gra ins ; T0 p Dr ess mg ; Seed ing D o wn $
$ o ot s ; Oni ons ; Ca b ba Celery ; $ ines ; Tomatoes ; As para us ;
,

Pe as and Bea ns ; S m al F ru its ; To ba cco ; Trees ; La w ns ; Ki t e n e

Ga rde ns a nd S peci a l Cro ps .

C omm ercia l $ a luat ions of Fer t iliz ers

0
5 52

W hat Ofci a l I ns pectors S a y $ Go vernme nt $ egula tion A bs olut e

ly E ss e nt i
a l .

GI FT
 The Needs of

M o d e rn F a r m i n g

N ACRE TI LLA G E LAN D eight inches deep weighs

a
OF
pounds t o ns ) I n the E as t t he average.

dressing of concentrated fertili z er is pounds per

acre where no manure or cover crop or catch crop is plowed
in To the Western farm er who uses from 4 0 0 to 8 00 pounds
.

per acre 1000 pounds seems large but it gives only one pou nd
, ,

of mixed fer t ili zer t o ever y t on of s oi l or less than a grain ,

of actual plant food t o each p ound of soil This innitesi m a l .

amount co m bined with the natural yield of the land has
b een known to produce under favorable we a ther conditions 400
bushels of potatoes 100 bushels of shelled corn or 30 to 40 tons
, ,

of ensilage per a cre ; t o pr odu ce pr ot i n pla ce of los s ; t o t u r n

failu r e i nt o s u c cess , a nd s t i ll lea ve t he s oi l no p oor er ,
bu t in m os t
c a s es m u ch r i cher .

It see m s al m ost a miracle of na t ure but these results h a ve ,

b een produced so often in so m any pl a ces and for so m any ye a rs

, ,

that they a r e no longer unusu a l They are realities to b e .

depended upon a s surely a s seed -time a n d h a r v est ret u rn .

S uccessful crop growth rests as we a ll know pri m a rily on

, ,

a rich soil th a t is a v ailable fertility or a va ila ble p la nt food

,
.

When the av ail able pl a nt food is e x h a usted then it must b e ,

supplied in one w a y or another in order to secure satisf a ctory

returns It is a case of give a n d take The crop s a ys in e ffect
. . ,

Feed me and I will feed you a n d while it is very e x a cting
,

in its demands yet it is generous in its returns S upplied with

, .

less than h a lf a gr a in of a ctu a l plant food to e a ch pound

1
of soil i t will return a mi llion or ten million -fold in food for man
,

and beast Thus it is obvious tha t living growing crops like

.
, ,

living growing animals must b e supplied with food either

, , ,

from natural sources or by the skill of man .

To aid in supplying the need of plant food is the re a son
for the existence of the ferti izer industry a n industry whic h
l

is b ased on all the sciences that relate to soil and crop problems ;
on geology which tells of the formation and composition of
,

soils ; on chemistry whi ch shows the needs of crops and how

,

they can b e supplied ; on botany which t ells of the s t ructure ,

of crops a n d h abits of growth and nally on b acteriology a , , , ,

co m paratively new science which tells of the soil b a cteria or

, ,

yeast of the soil
the lower orders of life without which
$
,

crops cannot thrive Thi s latter science which we are j us t

.
,

beginning to de v elop a n d underst a nd is co m pletely overturn ,

ing our preconceived notions of dr a inage tillage and t he rela ,

tions of pl a nt food ingredients to crops a n d soils .

Thus it will b e seen that the man who is carrying on the fer
t iliz e r industry tod a y and the far m er who is more or less depend
ent on th a t industry for a part or all of his plant food must
each b e m ore or less fam ili a r with these subj ects to meet the
needs of modern and successful farming .

The M o der n I de a of Pl a nt F eed i n g

It is ad m itted
that fertili ty is the corner stone of a g ric u l -

ture as agriculture is the corner s t one of all other industries

,
- .

Fertility th a t is a va i la ble pla nt food is wh a t na t u r e or ma n

,

pr ep ar es for pl a nts which are now grown as food crops for t he

support of h u manity .

For m erly the pr a ctice was to manure the soil in order to

restore lost fertility a n d to supply by guesswork deciencie s , ,

in the soil as ascertained by a chemical or a crop analysis of

,

the soil This method is not now rega rded as a practical solu
.

tion of the proble m for neither chemic a l analysis nor the grow
,

ing of crops can be relied upon as a true gui de to its enrichment .

The chemical an a lysis of the soil discloses too mu ch that is

misle a ding a nd the growing or even the matured crop t oo
, , ,

little th a t is conclusive .

Modern practice teaches that i t is not the soil but the crop , ,

that we s hould rst consider In a w ord we have turned from

.
,

2
 the soil w hi ch canno t positi v ely answer full though it is of ,

li fe t o the living crop w hi ch can ; s o t oday we feed the crop

,

ra t her t han the soil I n the modern sense therefore t he farmer

.
, ,

i s a manufacturer and the soil is hi s mac hi ne into which he ,

pu t s plan t food and out of whi ch by the aid of nature includ

, ,

ing the bac t eri a and other seen and unseen forces comb i ned ,

wi t h his own e ff orts he t akes his product a t harvest time I f

,
.

t he soil mac hi ne is a good one that is of the right texture and

,

retentive of plan t food full of active nitrifyin g b a cteria or

,

yeast s o much the better If it has a balance of crop pro
-
.

d u c ing power to its credit we seek to preserve that bal a nce,

for an emergency as the prudent man preserves a balance in

,

the bank in case of need .

In stock feedin g we chiey concern ourselves with a s t udy

o f t he a ni mal and its needs 8 0 i n plant feedin g we must .

m a ke an in t elli gen t study of the needs of the living crop and ,

in the study of this problem we must also s t udy the soil its ,

latent or potential fertility its physical and chemic a l charac,

t e ris t ic s and particularly the lower orders of li fe which i t con

,

tains the bacteria and other unseen forces to the end tha t we
, ,

may know what each contributes to the upbuildin g no t alone

of the soil but of the crop li fe above t he so i l upon w hi ch all
, ,

higher forms of life and activi t y depend .

Our problem then is not only to conser v e b ut t o supply the ,

b a lance of ready plant food required by the growing crop as ,

milk or prepared food i s suppli ed to t he growing child .

Wh at Pl a nt s N eed

Without goin g into an elabora te analysis of plant s le t us ,

come imme di ately to consider their c hief needs and the chief
deciencies of all soils t ha t have been farmed for some time To .

a scert ai n w hat plan t s need we must rs t know what t hey are

,

composed of Professor Brooks aptly illustrates the matter in t his

.

way $ 100 lbs of green grass t horoughly dried in the sun will
.
, ,

s hrink to about 25 lb s t he loss of 75 lbs being water If the

.
, . .

2 5 lbs is put in an oven and hea ted t o 212 (boiling point of water)
.

,

we can drive off from 12 to 14 lbs more or from 8 6 to 88 lbs of .

, .

w a ter in a ll The pe rfectly dry remaining portion is called

.
,

by the che mist org anic matter If these 12 or 14 lb s . .

of organi c matter are burned there will be left from 1 to 3 lbs of

, .

3

ashes which the chemists call as h or inorganic matter Gener
, , .

ally speakin g therefore w e nd tha t 100 lbs of green crops con

, , .

sist of $
W a te r 85 t o 90 lb s .

O r g a n i c M att e r 1 0 t o 1 5 lb s .

Wh i ch c o ns i t s s of $

C rb on
a

H y dro ge n
O y gen
x

N i tr o g e n
I no rg a ni c M att e r ( A s h e s ) 2 t o 3 lb s .

Wh i ch c on s i ts of s $

Ph o ph ru ss o

Su lphur
P ta s i u m
o s

C lcium
a

M gn es ium
a

Ir no

S d ium
o

C hlori n
S i l i c on ( S a n d)
I t would appear from the foregoing t able tha t wat er i s t he
larges t factor in growing all crops bu t unfortuna t ely i n general , ,

farm prac tice the farmer is dependent upon the rains to supply
,

it It is a factor b eyond his control except by irrigati on I t

. .

is known that thorough tillage will conserve moisture in t he

soil and is absolut ely essential in dry seasons hence cons t ant ,

a n d thorough cultivation is the b asis of successful

dry farmin g
in arid re gions where water is no t ob t ainable .

The organi c matter we observe is co m posed of c a rbon hydro ,

gen oxygen and nitrogen Now the rs t t hree are supplied in

, .

a bundan t quantities through t he air and wa t er by t he aid of sun

s hi ne which in nature s laboratory converts these elemen t s into

,
$

the str ucture of the plant w hi ch we know as st a lk leaf or straw ;

, ,

also as starch in the potato and grain or sugar in the frui t I t ,

.

is a curious fact of nature however t ha t w hi le nitrogen is the , ,

largest constituent of ai r bein g four-ft hs of its volume (equal to

,

3 tons over every acre of soil) ye t it is no t di rectly available to ,

general farm crops I t is no t positively known t hat any cro p

.

can extract nitrogen from the air except the clover family ,

w hi ch through nodules on t he roo t s ab sorb s nitrogen from the

, ,

a ir in the soil .
 Man inhales air composed principally of nit rogen and
,

o xygen and exhales ni trogen and carbo ni c g as t he latt er of

, ,

w hi ch con t ains carbon Plants absorb t he carbonic acid gas

.

from t he air retain the carbon and ex hale oxygen but

, ,

they have no power of appropri ating t hrough the leaves

any part of the abundant supply of nitrogen w hi c h surrounds
them in the a t mosphere The ni t rogen which t hey requi re .

mus t be obt ai ned excep t in the clover family from decayed

, ,

or decaying or g anic mat t er in the soil w hich contains ni t ro

gen as we have seen t he accumulation of decayed roots and

,

,

leaves in vir gi n soils for ages and which i s often design ated as
humus When the available ni trogen from these vi r gi n or
.

na t ural sources i s exhausted i t mus t b e obtained from ar ticial ,

sources or by plowing in green crops .

The inorganic matter or a sh group we nd to consist of a, ,

number of mineral s all of w hich are present in avai lable forms in

,

most soils excepting phosphorus ( phospha te of lime ) potassium

, ,

( potash) and calcium (li me)

, Experience shows that if we supply.

t he phosphorus i n t he shape of phospha te of lime the character ,

ist ic and predo minatin g element of bone and potash in t he form ,

of ashes or in t he form of potash s al ts found in nature and s ome ,

times a little lime to sweeten the soil and occasiona lly some sand
i n the case of peat soils W e are supplying the importa nt c onst it u
,

ents or the little balance t hat is necessa ry for successful crop
, ,

production Therefore to su m up t he problem through analyses

.
, ,

of crops analyses of soils and experi ments also through prac

, , ,

tical farm operations conduc ted for more than half a century ,

it has been observed t hat the t hr ee ess ent i al t hi ng s t o be

supplied in all commercial manures are ni trogen phosphoric acid ,

and po tash .
 The Three E ssential

E lements o f Pl a n t Food

N it r o g e n , t he F i r s t E le m e nt

Of the three essential elements of crops ( nitrogen phos ,

p h o r u s and potash ) which the farmer must supply we plac e ,

ni t rogen rs t in the group not because it i s t he mos t im,

portant bu t because it is relatively the least abundan t in

,

an a v a ilable form and therefore the most cos t ly As we .

know there is an inexhaustible supply of nitrogen over every

,

acre of soil and why nature arranged that i t should no t b e

,

available to the great family of plants is an interesting ques tion

for scientic speculation and investig a tion .

Nitrogen ( N bein g its symbol in chemistry) is known in t he

trade as ammonia the terms being used interchangeably As a
, .

ma tter of fact ammoni a is a co m bination of nitrogen and hydro

,

gen ( NH3) that is one part ni trogen to three parts hydro gen
, , ,

10 0 lbs of ammoni a cont a ining 82 lb s of nitrogen

. The form . .

of a m monia that is best known is h a rtshorn which is wa t e r ,

a n d am m onia combined .

Nitrogen is a g a s without color odor or ta ste As plants can , .

no t absorb it directly from the at m osphere it must be added in ,

the ma nure or fertilizer a pplied E x cept in the a ir it always exists

.

in combina tion wit h some other element a nd yet it is always ,

hastening back to the state of single blessedness to the pure

-
,

nitrogen of the atmosphere through the process of ni t rication

or decay .

The source s of nitrogen are the humus of the soil animal ma ,

nu r es and what are known as organi c ammoniates such as packing

, ,

house refuse tank a ge dried blood and s h waste or scrap

, , , ,

also the seeds of plants such a s cotton -seed or li nseed Then .

there are che mi cal sources chiey nitrate of soda ( a nat ural
,

deposit found in S outh America ) and sulphate of ammonia , ,

a chemi cal b y-product made by gas and coke works S ome soft .

6
c oals con t ain as much as 30 lb s of nitrogen t o the t on and if . ,

it could all b e extrac t ed such coals would b e worth more for

,

their nitrogen than for use as coal .

Nitrogen is needed in the plan t to form the pro tein of t he

pla n t and seeds or grains ; and these in turn when eaten by a ni ,

mals form the protein of the meat muscles and tendons steak and
, , ,

c hops the w hi te of eggs e t c Nit rogen also imp a rts a green color
, ,
.

to the le a f m a kes i t larger richer and more luxuri a nt in appe a r

, ,

ance An excess of nitrogen will produce a soft pulpy growt h

. ,

which will fa ll down while the lack of it is shown in a spindling

, ,

sickly yellow growt h

, .

Nitrogen is someti m es described as t he alco hol of fertilizers ,

t he stimula ting property but as there is no food stimulant known

,

to plants in the sense t ha t alcohol is a sti m ulant to man t hi s ,

a ssumption is erroneous It forces growth bec a use it is usually

.

a pplied in water -soluble or very a v ailable forms like nitra te of

.

so d a sulphate of a mmonia or in the form of acidulated orga ni c

, ,

matter like dried blood t a nkage sh etc Untreated horn s b a v

, , ,
.

in gs although rich in nitrogen will not force growth nor will nitro
, , ,

gen in any form do it unless t here are present in the soil nitri
t yin g bacteria to convert the organic matter into ni tric acid w hich
the pla nt can then absorb Neither will ni trogen force growth
.

unless soil conditions are right and there are a lso present the
phospha tes and potash to keep it compa ny .

When crops lodge or f a ll down it is often the result ,

of over -feeding of nitrogen w hi ch forces the growth f a s ter than

,

t he plant can obtain or a ssi m ilate the silic a tes especi a lly silicate ,

of potash necess a ry for stamin a This often h a ppens on rich

,
.

muck soils and it is on such soils th a t a n app li c a tion of pot a sh

,

and sand is essential to correct this condition .

One c an put co a l in a stove but u nless a ir conta ining ,

o xygen is a d mi tted it will not burn Ai r depleted of its oxygen

, .

and a dmitted to a stove w ould put out wh a tever re w a s sta rted ;

so nitrogen will not work in the soil unless the con ditions a r e right
for i t to be o xidi z ed so to speak a nd con v erte d into a v ail able form
. , .

Coal will not burn in a c hi mn ey which is stopped u p A soil s topped .

up wi t h water or b a ked from lack of cu lti v ation or in su fficien t

humus (orga nic matter) will not grow a crop no matter how much ,

nitrogen or other pla nt food ingredients are a pplied .


Nitrogen is no more important in the cha in than t he

weakest link thereof and yet it is so ra re an article the com
, ,

m er c ial so u rces of it being so few that he who will discover a cheap

,

commercial process for obtaining it from the atmosphere and

combining it i n a form t hat will be service able in crop produc
tion not only will be a great benefactor a n d inventor but will
, ,

change t he economy of li ving on this earth .

Ph o s p h o r i c Ac i d , t he S ec o n d E le m e nt
Phosphoric Acid ( P20 5) is the characteristic element of bone .

It s o f ce in plant fee ding is primarily to furnish phosphorus to

plants especially to t he ir grains and seeds
, No grain or .

seed could be formed without it although it is foun d in the ,

sta lks and leaves As we know the skeleton or framework

.
, , ,

of men and of a nimals is bone in w hi ch there is 13 per cent ,

of phosphorus As grains and seeds constitu te in some cases t he

.

chief food of animals and of men nature has provided that phos ,

p h o r u s shall be one of t he i r i m po rtant constituents In other words .

,

as we tra ce back the structure of anim als to plants and of plants ,

to plant food in gre di ents we n d those in gre di ents to predominate

,

i n vi rgi n soils which are necessary for and w hich pr ed o mi ,

n ate in the s t ructure of ani m als or men

,
.

In addi tion to supplyi ng phosphorus soluble and available ,

phosphoric acid seems to have a sti m ulating inuence on the

feeding capacity of plants and on the soil It seems to be a .

mixer and a promoter of plant a ssi mila tion and di gestion On

.

that account it has tens maturity in many cases For example .

,

s oluble phosphate of lime is almost a specic for certain root

c rops like turnips and beets and ye t phosphorus does no t en ter
,

largely into the composition of these crops Besides supplying .

phosphorus t o the kernel of corn soluble phosphates of lime are

,

absolutely es senti a l in the has tening of the maturity of the corn

crop Phosphoric acid in the form of phosphate of lime also con
.

s t it u t es a splendid base upon w hi ch to b ui ld a complete ferti lizer .

I n the form of acid phosphate (phosphates of lime di ssolved in

sulphuri c acid ) it constitutes in many cases t he b ulk of
,

c ommercial fertilizers w hich is referred to elsewhere

,
.

We do not nd phosphorus or phosphoric acid in an u nc o m

b ine d form in n a ture but a lw a ys united with some b ase or
,

alk a li c hi ey with li m e in the form of phosphate of lime

,
.

8
 The mother source of phosphate of lime is supposed t o be
the mineral kn own as apatite and found in various parts of t he
world Other mineral sources of phosphate of lime ha v e been
.

found more particularly in S outh Carolin a Florida and Ten

, ,

ne s se e All soils contain an abundant supply of phosphate of

.

li me but as we have exhausted the a va i la ble part we mus t

, ,

supply i t in some form or other .

The ori gi nal comm ercial source was bone whi ch is composed ,

of abou t 65 % of phosphate of li m e the ot her 3 5 % of the b one ,

b eing cartil a ge fat marrow glue water e t c After the de m and

, , , , , .

for fer tili z er had exhausted the supply of bone the m ineral ,

deposits of phosphate of li me were taken up and it was found ,

that by gri nding them ne and dissolving them in oil of vitriol

( sulphuric acid ) the phosphate of,li me was rendered available to
plants and thus it helped t o supply the little b alance of t hi s
,

ingredient necessary for crop production The sources of phos .

p h o r u s ( phosphoric acid ) and phosphate of lime are therefore

the bones from packing houses sheries and market places
-
,

and the mineral deposits of phosphates in all part s of the world .

I t is believed t hat phosphoric acid is the most important

of the three principal elements of plant food not because i t is ,

the most requi red for in the composition of the plant it is leas t
,

needed but because it is a catalyz er as well as a fertilizer
, .

In che mi stry a catalyzer is an elemen t w hi ch a ssists in t he

,

union of other elements withou t becoming a part of the union

a sort of g o b etween ; that is b esides furnishing the needed
-
,

phosphoric acid it assists in the di ff usion and assimilation of

,

other pl a nt food ingredients If phosphoric a cid exercises a cata .

lytic action in the soil ( a n d there is no doubt of it ) the e x pe ri ,

ments of Lawes and Gilbert as well as results in practical crop ,

growing indicate that i t is t he s olu ble phos phori c a cid w hi ch

,

p oss es s es t his qu a lit y a nd that the ins olu ble phos phor i c a cid does
,

not p os s es s i t a t a ll This in part explains why superphosphates

.

( dissolved b one dis s olved bone bl a ck and a cid phosphate) are

,

much superior to undis s ol v ed phosphates .

F o u r F o rm s of P h o s p h at e
There are four for m s of phosph a te of li m e as follows $
4 l i m e ph o s ph a t e Tet r a -C a lc i c
,

-
A b y-pr o duc t o f st eel m a n uf a c t ure

i e ph ph t e Tr i C lc i c M i n er l ph ph t e nd b n e
.

3 -l m os a - a a os a s a o

l i m e ph D i C lc i c $ ever t ed ph ph ri c c i d
.

2- o s ph t e
a - a os o a

l im e ph ph te M n C lc i c W t er s luble ph s ph ri c c i d
.

1- os a
o o- a a o o o a .

9
 The l a st two phosphates 1-lime and 2-lime are what , ,

constitute the available phosphoric acid in acid phosphate ,

dissolved bone black and in ch emically prepared fertilizers .

Liebig t he founder of a gri cultur a l chemistry and the father

,

of the chemical fertili z er industry discovered t hat if we treated ,

bone a 3-lime phosph a t e with sulphuric acid we robbed i t

, , ,

of two parts of its lime and that the re m aining one part w a s
soluble in water in which form plants could readily absorb it
, ,

and in which form for some reason unknown at the time it

, ,

was found to hasten maturi ty On t his discovery was b ased .

,

and is still b ased t he chemical fertilizer industry whi ch in

, ,

seventy years has grown to enormous proportions all over t he

world .

Professor Chester of the D elaware Agricultural College

, ,

st a tes that an average of forty -nine analyses of soils shows

$

enough p ot ent ia l phosphoric acid to produce fourteen bushels of

wheat per acre per ye a r for ve hundred years The ques t ion .

then arises S hould the commerci a l f a rmer who is dependent

, ,

upon quick crops for quick returns apply unavailable fertili ,

z er s
,
and especi a lly insoluble phosphates which neither supply ,

the needed available phosphoric acid nor have any cat a lytic
inuence in t he soil $ In a word shall he in t hi s l a titude where , ,

the growing season is li mi ted pr a ctically to 120 days and ,

w here there is often a short supply of water apply insoluble ,

a n d un a v a ilable plant food w hi le the soluble and avail a ble can

,

b e obtained a t a relatively small cost over the insoluble $

G r o un d P h o s p h a t e s or

F l o at s

Ground mineral phosphates sometimes called oa t s are ,

,

b eing recomm ended as absorbents under cattle and horses .

They are no doub t a good absorbent but no b etter than ne

, , , ,

dry earth It is contended that in the manure pile by the action

.
,

of deco m position a nd nitrication of the manure a certain par t ,

of the phosphoric acid will b e rendered available bu t how much ,

will b e rendered available is unknown No prudent commer .

c ia l farmer will depend upon it as a source of av a ilable phos

p ho r ic acid for hoed crops H e might a s well depend entirely .

on hay for milch cows

als o p ag
.

$ Se e e 27 .

10
 It is also urged t ha t ground mineral phosphates undis ,

s olved should be appli ed di rectly to t he soil

, Bu t why add more .

insoluble phosphoric ac i d when there i s already in t he soil a

s upply for many cen t uries $ The phosphoric acid w hi ch is
taken o ff in crops sho ul d b e returned but in a s olu ble diu s i ble , ,

form not only to feed the growing crop but by its catalyt ic
, ,

action to help in the di ffusion and assimilati on of other plant foods

and s o hasten maturi ty for time is everything in this la titude
,
.

B a s ic S la g P h o s p h a t es

These are no doubt valuable i n t heir place but they have

, , ,

the ir li mitations According to the ofcial methods of analysis

.

in this country slag phosphates contain no s olu ble phosphoric

,

a cid. Therefore when one applies them he is only adding to

, ,

the s u m total of phosphoric aci d in t he soil of which the soil as , ,

w e hav e s een contai ns enough for cen t uri es

u , S lag phosphates .
,

h owever are made up of about one -four t h free lime and are
, ,

v a luable where the soil is acid Prob ably a considerable part .

,

if not all of the efciency of sla g phosphates is due mor e to t he

,

free lime than to the phosphoric acid whi ch they contain If .

one needs to use lime to sweeten his soil ( and he frequen t ly

d oes) and a t t he same t ime des i res t o apply addi t ional phos
p h o r i c acid in an inexpensive form we reco mmend a mix t ure
,

of pounds of high grade superphosphate and 500 pounds

o f agricultural lime This will g ive a t on which wi ll con t a in

.

a s much active lime and prac t ically as much phosphori c acid

a s slags con t ain and will cos t less per t on t han slags
, I t will also .

have the advan t age that the phosphori c acid will all be quickly
a vailable and since available phosphoric acid ( soluble and r e

ver t ed ) is absolu t ely essen t ial in t he grow t h of quick crops the ,

a p pli cation of acid phosphate and lime appli ed separa tely or ,

comb in ed in a mix t ure as sug g es t ed wi ll be fo u nd far more ,

e i c ient than basic sla g p hospha t es a s w ell a s les s exp ens ive,
.

P ot as h , t he Th i rd E le m e nt
$ iewed from the standp oin t of t heir chemical analyses ,

p otash ( K20 ) plays an import an t part in t he struc t ure of plan t s .

I t is absolu tely essen tial in t he formation of the woody bre of the

s t a lk and i n the sugar and starch contained therein and espe ,

c ia lly in tubers and roo t s like potatoes and beets .

ll
 I t i s never found in nature pure bu t invariably i n c o m ,

bina tion with some acid One of it s bes t known comb inations
.

is w it h carbonic acid forming carbonate of po t ash which is

, ,

the common form in w hi ch we nd i t in ashes It i s t he .

carbonate of po t ash w hi ch i s leac hed ou t of ashes and w hi ch

is used i n t he manufac t ure of soap T he exact form in .

which the po t ash exis t s in plant s is no t well un ders t ood bu t ,

it in connection with silicic acid is believed t o aid in givin g

, ,

the sti ff quality to the stalk and also to t he hull of the seed .

When a plan t is burned we always nd po t ash in t he ashes in

,

the form of carbonate .

We also nd it i n na t ure i n combination wit h nit ri c aci d ,

formi ng ni trate of potash a chemical w hi ch en t ers largely

in t o t he manufacture of gunpowder and is also used ext en
s iv e ly i n brines for p i ckli ng meats This form of potash can .

be leached out of certain soils in w hi ch there is a large amoun t

of or ganic ma t ter or out of horse manure It also appears .

in na t ure in t he form of chlori de of potash w hi ch in chemical ,

composi ti on i s a sal t simi lar t o chloride of soda (common s al t ) .

The ori ginal and c hi ef a gricul t ural source of potash was

t he ashes from burned wood and in this form i t exists largely
,

as carbonat e and silicate of po t ash ; bu t ashes afforded only

a small supply of potash and i t b ecame necessary to nd so m e
,

na t ural supply This was found in G ermany so that today t he

.
,

world turns to that coun t ry for it s source of articial potash .

The sources of potash t hen are t he G erman potas h sal t s

, , ,

ni trate of potas h and nally wood ashes chiey from Canada

, , , , .

a
L i m e , O cc s i o n a lly N eeded

Lime has been used as a fertili zer from t ime immemorial ,

but in later years it has b een neglected because it has bee n

overshadowed by t he great trio ni t rogen phosphoric acid and , ,

potas h and because it has been assumed tha t mos t soi ls con
,

t ain enough available li me w hi ch is no doub t true Li me

,
.

i s an import ant i n gre dien t of all plan t struc tures and of ,

t hi s mos t soils have an abundant available supply We have

,
.

learned however tha t while soils do contai n an abund a nt supply

, ,

i n available form yet that it is necessary t o apply i t occasionally

,

in a caustic form to correct sour soils .

12
 L i me e xi s t s i n na ture as li me rock w hi c h i s carbo ni c ac i d
,

a nd calc i um comb i ned and is practically i nsoluble i n wa ter

, .

Burni ng it drives o ff the wa ter of crystalli zati on breaks down ,

i ts struc ture and leaves i t i n what is known as a caustic con

,

dition that is in a condition t o comb i ne easily and qui ckly

, .

With all acids par ti cularly wit h t he weak o r gani c ac i ds of

,

t he soil ,
and it i s in t hi s form tha t li me i s of very grea t assist
ance i n neutrali zin g the excess of so i l acids and leavi n g t he soil
in a neu t ral or slightly alkaline condition I t is known that .

farm crops thrive b est on a soil which is s ligh t ly alk a line alka ,

linit y being necessary for the growth of the ni t rifyi ng b ac t eri a

which must exist and thri ve in all soils t hat support the hi g her
o rders of vegeta t ion such as farm crops
, .

Burnt lime is also excee di ngly valuable on soils w hi ch

have b een over manured or on muck soils t ha t is soils whi ch
-
,

, ,

are ri ch in organic ma t ter ( humus ) in order t o assis t i n breaki ng

them down and rendering the plan t food available and also ,

t o ai d in the formation of silica t es of lim e w hic h are necessary ,

for st i ffness or stamina in t he stalk Unfortunately burn t

.
,

lime ( quickli me) canno t b e introduced in t o mixed commercial

manures b ecause it will s et up a che mi cal action t hat causes
,

the ni trogen which is presen t in the form of mea t blood and ,

t ankage to b e se t free as ammonia w hi ch passes o ff in t o t he

, ,

atmosphere as a gas to the great de t rimen t of t he fertili zer

, .

Therefore lime mus t b e supplied to t he soil in i t s clear

sta t e U sually an applica tion of abou t a ton to t he acre once
.

in two or t hree years will correc t the acid ity of t he so i l T hi s .

is an i mportant t hing t o accompli sh a s we s hall s ee when w e

,

consi der on ano t her page the soil b ac t eria or yeas t of t he soil, .

13

The
B ulk in Fertiliz ers

Consumers oft en wonder w ha t i s t he bulk of a t o n of

fertilizer over and above t he percentage of plan t food Thus .

,

i n a t on of high grade fer tilizer only 4 00 lb s of ac t ual plant

, . .

food i s suppli ed For example $ .

4 p er ce nt of Amm on i a e q u al t o 8 0 lb s in a t on
Ph o ph or i c Ac i d
.

10 s r t
200
6
u u
P t hu
o as
u u
g h
u u u

4 0 0 lb s .

B l n ce o
a a r

bulk
of the t on

T ot l a lb s .

What is t hi s lbs composed of $ A part of i t i s reall y .

plant food but not in the sense tha t t he ammo ni a p hosphori c

, ,

acid and potash are plant foods It is plan t food ch i ey .

,

humus that is no t ch a rged for in t he price We will no t go

, .

i n t o a scientic a nalysis of this material but every pound o f ,

it can b e properly accounted for without t he addition of any

ller or make -weight A cord of stable manure weighs abou t

. .

lbs but it con t ains not over 50 lbs of actual plan t food
.
,
. .

Wha t i s the bulk or ller of manure $

Pure ni t rogen as we have seen is a colorless gas and in

, , ,

tha t condi tion i t cannot b e used as food for either plants or ani
mals Po t ash and phosphoric aci d do no t exis t i n an u nc om
.

b in ed pure s t a t e in nature and even if they di d such stron g and , ,

caus tic elemen t s would b e dangerous to handle and absolutely

u nt for the tender rootlets to feed upon ; s o we obtain or com

bine them in forms suitable for agricultural uses w .

The ac t ive content of me a t is protein but t he stomac h ,

could no t di gest protein in i t s pure state We take i t in beef .

steak whic h is 8 5 % water and bre Milk consis t s of from 11

,
.

to 15 % solids composed of fats sugar and cheese materials ; t he

, ,

b alance is water but we cannot extrac t the water and use only
,

t he solids The bulk of an a pple after t he essential juice o r

.
,

c ider is ex t rac t ed is pomace or bre whi ch possesses littl e

, , ,

o r no value as food bu t makes t he

bulk of the apple Cer
, .
$

t ain o t her t hi ngs hold or carry plan t food and constitut e t he

14
it from caking Understand these dryers do no t reduce t he
.
,

amount of the plant fo od guaranteed in a ton for that is a ,

known xed quantity whi ch the manufacturer mus t state

, ,

guaran t ee and supply or b e liable to prosecution These dryers

, .

rarely make up bulk for they usually contain plant food t hem
,

selves such as phosphate and carb onate of li m e

, S ome of t he .

b est known dryers are t he soft guanos which come from t he

i slands in the southern seas .

As manufacturers of fer tili zers are expected t o gather and

make available all sorts and conditions of materials w hi ch
c ontain plan t food in the interest of economic agriculture they
, ,

c a nno t pick and choose bu t must utili z e everyt hi ng ; hence

,

all things a r e sh w hi ch come t o their net

To assemble t hem .
,

to prepare them and to put them in available form and perfect

,

mechanical condition for easy dis t ribution and quick eld

resul t s is the work of the manufacturer It is no s m all work
, .
,

and it requires well -equipped plants comprising powerful mills ,

as well as complic a t ed chemical appara t us .

The prud en t manufacturer endeavors so t o b al a nce his

m a t eri als t hat no dryers are necessary for every t hing w hi ch ,

goes i nto a mi xture if it does not carry its share of ni t ro gen

,

or potash or phosphoric acid i s j ust s o much additional ma t erial ,

t o provide for and prepare ; hence dryers are no t used from

c hoice bu t only from necessity A farmer does not feed all
,
.

h ay or all grain from choice but a proper proportion of each ; ,

a nd if he is ou t of corn meal and shorts t o mi x with his gluten

meal w hi ch is very concentrated he feeds a lar ger a m ount of

, ,

h ay . The re sult i s practically the same provided he supplies ,

t he same requi red amoun t of dig es t i ble food .

To state what one sells and to sell what one s t a t es should

$

b e the underlying pri nciple of all business transac tions As the .

fertilizer industry and all the fertilizer inspection laws are now
b ased on thi s principle the farmer can feel reasonably sure of
,

getting w hat he buys as to the qu a nt it y of plan t food in a ton

of fertilizer U nfor t una t ely o f cial inspec tion which i s ri gi dly
.
, ,

enforced in every state while i t reveals the quan tity of plant

,

food in a t on does not and cannot in t he present state of chemi

, ,

c a l knowledge reve a l the qu a li t y that is the degree of a va ila bi li t y

, , , .

Fo r t he quality the buyer must still rely upon the integrity of

t he rm with whom he deals Touchin g t hi s point the remarks
.
,

16
of t he late Professor Johnson of Connecticut t he pioneer o f cial ,

fert ilizer inspector hold good Referring to quality he said $

, .
,

The o nly s ecurity of purch a s er s f ferti li er s is in de l i ng wi th rm s

o z a

wh i ch h ve t he h ighe t reput t i n
a s $ n d in a v o i d i n g
a o che p g oo d s
a
$
a
$

o ff ered by i rre p o n i ble p rt i e s

s s a .

The m anufacturer is c a lled upon t o state and guarantee a

given a m ount of plant food in each ton in cert a in f orms and , ,

when he has done that whether the goods are high grade and
,

sell for $40 per ton or low grade and sell for $ 20 per ton he has
, ,

perform ed his part of the contr a ct If he is a wise and pro .

g r e s siv e manuf a cturer he will go, further and m ake it a point

to furnish the required plant food in s olu ble a ct ive forms , ,

properly b alanced for the crops t o b e grown and in perfec t me

c h a nic a l condition a nd w hi ch w ill con t i nu e s o u nt il u sed
, .

S ome day the farmer li ke the fertili z er manufa cturer will sell
, ,

many of his products on a guar a n t eed b asis and should receive

credit and pay accordi ngly Fo r example $ if he produces a
.

rich milk which he guarantees to contain 15 % solids with 5 %

fat he should recei v e a higher price than for a gr a de which con
,

t a ins only 12 % so li ds with 3 % fat Both grades m a y b e ab so .

lu t ely pure m ilk but the rst gr a de is worth 2 5 % m ore than t he

,

s econd grade a s a n article of food and costs m ore to produc e , .

17
 C hemically M ix ed
Fertiliz ers
$ S .

Dr y M i x e d
a nd

Ho m e M ix ed

M a ny people have the idea tha t the mi xing of fertilizers is

a si m ple process ; that a l a borer with a shovel and a screen can
do it ; a nd s o he can But should we be satised with that sort
.

of goods $ The actual putting of t he ingredients together is but

the last step in a long process Before they are mixed the .
,

m a teri a ls must be asse m bled all of the m ground and screened

, ,

and m o s t of them should b e chemically treated ; many of them ,

also should b e thoroughly rendered of their grease for grease

, ,

is b ad in a fertilizer for two reasons $ it furnishes no pl a n t food ,

and it causes t he goods to b e sticky undrillable a nd oftentimes , ,

to burn .

All these steps requi re a complic a ted chemical pl a nt for t his

preliminary work without which no home mixing or dry
m ixing

would b e possible A cook can take our butt er
.
, ,

suga r and eggs and make cake but somebody has had to make
, ,

in advance the our sugar and butter ; and the b a kin g process
,

must follow the mi x ing process .

The che mi cal process of mi xing fertilizers is one i n w hi ch

practically a ll of the materi a ls except the chemical salts a r e sub
j ec t ed to chemical treatment in large revolving mixers the con ,

tents of which are disch a rged into dens holding from 100 to 4 00
tons and there allowed to mingle and co m post in the presence
,

of a high degree of heat which has been genera ted by t he splitting

,

up and reco m bination of the chemical ele m ents in the materials

used .

In this complex chemic a l process the insoluble phosphate ,

of lime in bone or mineral phosphates is rendered water soluble -

and avail able and at the same time the organic materials such
, ,

as tankage sh etc will have been converted a p a rt into

, , .
, ,

c hemical nitrogen and the remainder into an available form

,
.

18

D ry
mi xed or shovel -
mixed goods are those which ar e
prepared by mixing the crude ingredients t ogether for ex

a m ple the m ixing o f ground bone ground phosphate rock or

, ,

d r y acid phosphate with tankages etc S uch a mixture is ,

.

purely a mechanical union in whi ch no che mical action takes

place We can make a dry mixture of lime and sand but the
.
,

mo m ent we add water chemical action se ts in and we have ,

mort a r which is quite another m aterial Flour and water a nd

,
.

a li t tle salt could b e mixed up and served as food but it would ,

not b e bread It is si m ply dough not cooked bread w hi ch

.
,

is pala t able a nd digestible Che mic a lly made fertili z ers like .
,

properly made bread are the prepared food or bread of ,

pl a nts and are as superior to dry mixed or shovel -mixed
,

fertili zers as bre a d is superior to the crude grains from which it

is made N ow the chemical process of m aking fertili z ers is
.

the outcome of long experi ence in the che mi c a l fertili z er in

d u s t ry which seeks to render and ac t ually does render pra e
, , ,

tically all the plant food available for plants a s t he cooking of ,

meats and vegetables renders them available for man .

Processes vary in treating b y-products w hi ch contain plant

food In some cases the processes are so conducted as to take
.

o u t all the grease and leave the b y -produc t s in a hard unavail ,

a ble condition In other cases they are so conduc t ed t hat

.
,

while most of the grease is extracted the product is left ,

in a soft avail a ble condition It depends l a rgely upon the

, .

a pparatus used and the te m perature employed Everyone .

knows t hat beefsteak can b e cooked in a way that will leave it

v ery indigestible or i t can b e served t ender and jui cy and easily
,

d igestible .

There are forms of ni t rogen in t he market w hi ch are more

o r less i nert including many s o -called tankages or bloods w hich

, ,

a r e dri ed and ground either separately or m i xed with good tank

,

a g e or dried blood and sold t o dry mixers or home mi xers a s

,

tankages much as a little cream used t o be mixed with oleo

,

m a rgarine to give it t he aroma and tas t e of butter These if .

,

o nly dry mixed w hi le gi vi ng goods t ha t may show up well

,

in the laboratory do not show up well in t he eld for t hey have

, ,

not been properly cooked as i t were ; and aft er all it is the eld ,
-
,

test w hi ch tells t he story The prac tical far m er who i s growi ng ;

quick crops for quick re turns wan t s goods t ha t wi ll act durin g

19
the current season H e consi ders t he followi ng season when
.

he gets to it .

Therefore i n decidin g b e t ween c hemically prepared goods

,

and dry mixed or home -mixed goods t here are two points

,

to be considered $
Firs t $ Ferti li zers are purc hased and used no t for t hei r ,

crude plan t food bu t for t hei r available plan t food T hey are
, .

bought to supplemen t t he crude manure on t he farm t o start ,

crops as well as to carry t hem t hrou gh t o ma t urit y t o produc e ,

resul t s i n dry seasons as well as i n we t seasons Will dry

.

mixed or shovel -mi xe d g oo ds whi c h have no t b een sub

j ec t ed t o c hemi cal t reat men t g i ve t he same results as chemically

mi xed goods $ Will t hey b e as soluble a s active a nd as s u r e $
,

S e on
c d $ Will dry mi xed or shovel mi xed goods b e
-

as t horou ghly mi xed and blended as chemically prepared goods $

Will each pound of soil get its half-grain or grai n of fertili zer $
I t mus t b e remembered t hat when we apply a s large a quan tity
a s a t on t o t he acre of concen t ra t ed fer t i lizer we are gi vi n g each
,

pound of so i l less t han a grai n of plant food For t hi s inn .

it esim al quan t i t y to b e t horou g hly a nd evenly di s t ribu t ed t he ,

goods mus t be dry and drillable as well as soluble and avai lable .

Fi nally we mus t remember t ha t in t hi s la tit ude t he growi ng

,

season for mos t crops is limi t ed t o 120 days Will crudely .

mi xed fert ili zers ins u r e crops t o t he same exten t t ha t chemically

prepared goods wi ll insure t hem $ Jud gi ng by t he enormous
increase i n t he consumpti o n of c he mi cally mi xed fertilizers t he ,

prac tical farmer has decided i n t he ne g a ti ve .

The Av a i l a b i l i t y of F ert i l iz er s

It mus t be b orne in mi nd t hat commerci al manures are

appli ed c hi ey t o hoed crops many of w hi c h have small roo t
,

systems mature i n from si xt y t o one hundred and twen t y days

, ,

and are oft en pu t t o i t to nd sufci ent mo i s t ure Theor et i .

cally and prac ti cally t he commercial farmer for bes t results , ,

wan t s every seed t o germi na t e every plan t to mat ure and hence
, ,

every pound of t he so i l t o b e enriched wit h it s fraction of a .

grai n of avai lable plan t food T herefore a vaila bilit y diffu si

.
,

bili t y and ne dry condi t ion for eve n di s t ri buti on are of para
,

moun t i mport ance t o t he man w ho is growi n g qui ck crops for

qui ck re t urns i n t hi s lati t ude Will home -mi xed or dry

.

20
mixed goods w hi c h any farm laborer w it h a spade can pre

,

pare ins u r e hi m t he same result s as c he mi cally prepared or

,

predi ges t ed goods $ A s t unt ed crop li ke a s t unt ed calf rarely , ,

amounts t o anyt hi n g .

B al a n ced a nd S p ec i a l i z ed F ert i l iz er s
Well -b alanced specialized ferti li zers containing t he ri ght
, ,

amoun t s of a vaila ble nitrogen in bo t h che mi cal and or g ani c ,

forms w it h an excess of soluble and revert ed phosphoric aci d

, ,

both for fert ili zing and catalyzing e ff ec t s and t he proper amount ,

and ri g ht form of potash all t horoughly blended t o ge t her and ,

i n forms t hat wi ll no t cake bu t remain in a drillable condi tion , ,

and w hi ch will ac t not only i n the b e gi nnin g bu t t hroughout ,

the season (fert ilizers b ased upon the needs of t he crop and
marke t requi rements ) ar e wha t t he prac t ical farmer s hould
,

rely upon in growing commercial crops Above all t hi ngs he .

,

s hould avoid unb alanced and improper mixt ures t ha t have the
defect of one elemen t b ein g i ns olu ble and another elemen t t oo
soluble for successful plant growth .

Professor $ oorhees of New Jersey an authority on t he su b

, ,

j c et recommends applying an abundance of a well b alanced

,
-
,

available fertilizer as much as or

, pounds t o cert ain
hoed crops w here no manure or cover crop i s plowed i n The

.

la t e Professor S t ockbri d ge emphasized t he importance of adap t

ing t he ferti li z er t o t he crop and especially t ha t t he fertilizer ,

used should contain t he dominan t elemen t w hi c h tha t crop

requi red The expert po t at o growers of Maine the marke t
.
,

gardeners of Long Island and N ew Jersey all follow t hi s prac tice ,

and are making money .

The sanest s hrewdest farmers apply ample dressings of

,

well made specialized available fertilizers t o i ns u r e protable

-
, ,

crop grow t h for after all i t is crop i ns u r a nce t hat the prac t ical
, , ,

farmer i s after H e takes long chances with t he wea t her

.
,

but he takes no chances with the kind of fertili zer he applies ,

for he knows t hat an ext ra dollar expended for t he righ t ki nd

will make j us t the di ff erence be tween success and failure .

21

T he $ e a st o f t he S oil

or Soil B a ct e r i a

The yeas t of t he soil as we shall consider it is no t plant
,

,

food but low organisms of life which exist in the soil and but
,

for which cultivated soils would be practically barren The .

yeast of the soil is wh a t is scientically known as b a cteria
orga ni s ms which thrive in the soil and by means of w hich
un a v a ilable plant food especially nitrogen in the form of organi c
,

matter such as stable m a nure (leaves stalks

, is rendered , ,

av a il a ble The great discoveries of H e llr eig e l the leading

.
,

investigator along this line demonstrate that higher orders o f ,

plant life are dependent upon lower orders of life We could .

not protably grow a corn or potato crop unless these organisms

were growing a t the s a me time in the soil or had previously ,

existed there and done their work .

We speak of a soil as being cold and non -producti ve I t .

may be cold from a n excess of wa ter or because it i s too com ,

pact a nd heavy but the m oment we dra in it or lighten i t by

,

culti v ation it becomes producti v e The real reason i t b e

,
.

co m es productive is that we a dmit air and warmth which are ,

nece s sary to develop the crop and also the yeast pl a nts
(bacteri a ) which in turn att a ck the stable manure or othe r
, , ,

organic matter ( hum us ) and break it down rendering it avail

, ,

able to pl a nts Farmers s a y that they can he a r corn grow on

.

warm days and hot nights which is al m os t litera lly true I t , .

is bec a use the we a ther is fa vorable to the growth of the nitri

t ying plants (bacteria of the soil ) which convert the unavail ,

able nitrogen into available and soluble form s .

It is a we ll -known fact th a t the yeast used in m a king bread

and the mother used in making vinegar are nothi ng but a n

aggrega tion of bacteria yeast plants as it were When the
, , .

yeast is added to bre a d under warm favorable conditions it , ,

.

begins to grow and in its growth liberates carbonic acid gas

, ,

which causes the bread to rise and become light and poro u s In .

t he c a se of vinegar a ferment or ye a st plant at t a cks the sugar

, ,

of the cider and converts it into alcohol ; then the mother of
22
( Penc illu m ) , h owi n g th t i t is nitr o gen x er I th i nk it wi ll be s how n
s a a -

l a ter o n th t q uit e a little nitr gen is x ed in the so il by th is type of

.

a o

o rg n i s m e x clu i ve
a f th o e o n the n dules f the le gu m e s
s o s The den itr i fy
o o

ing o r g n i s m s o f t e n fo u n d in m n ure p i le s res p on ible f the

, .

a ar e nd a a ar e s or

l i ber ti on o f a m m oni a a n d a s s uch we would n t c n i der them f v r able

a , , o o s a o .

In the spring of the year when the weather conditions are ,

usually unfavorable for the propagation and rapid m ultipli ca

t ion of these soil yeast plants commerci a l manures are ,

f ound of great assistance in forc i n g an e a rly growth by supply

i n g forms of plant food whi ch have been rendered soluble by
c he mi cal treat m ent or are so to speak predigested and ready , , ,

f or t he crop to feed upon immediately S ince most of o ur .

c ultivated crops make their chief growth in from sixty to ni nety

days it will be clear th a t we must have pla nt food in t he soil

,

that will feed the plant from be ginni ng to end especially i n ,

the be ginning of the season when the bacteria of the soil owi n g , ,

t o weather conditions are not ac t ive ,

.

The M o der n E x p l a n at i o n of C o m p o st ing ,

D rainage a nd C ul t i v at i o n

The discovery of soil b ac t eria w hi ch also exist in stable ,

manure e xplains t he advantage of co m posting and cultivation

,

fo r forcing early growt h In t he m aj ority of cases i t is no

.
,

doubt cheaper if not better to apply stable manure in its

, ,

crude state directly to the soil to culti v a te it into the soil and ,

allow the bacteria t o attack it there ; in short to co m post i t ,

i n t he soil rat her than beforeh a nd In many cases it is desir .

able to use some t horoughly compos t ed stable manure manure

w hi ch ha s been subjected to the bacterial process broken down , ,

and a considerable par t of its crude plant food converted i nto

available forms This however was deemed more necessary
.
, ,

years ago before commerci a l manures were introduced Now

,
.

that concentrated avail able pl a nt food can be bought the ,

necessity of composting manure in advance is passin g ou t .

I t is not only a slow process but more or less wasteful and ,

e xpensive for in the process of nitrica tion through the bac terial
,

action a considerable amount of ammonia may be set free

and wasted into the atmosphere Thi s alwa ys takes place .

when the manure or compost pile is allowed to re fang and
t urn white .

24
 It i s urged however by some experimen ters t hat com
, ,

posti n g is desirable in order t o raise t he t empera t ure of t he

manure pile t o a point t hat wi ll des t roy t he foul weed seeds ,

but is no t t his an expensive way to destroy weed seeds as ,

O bv i ously it must expose t he compost to loss of ammo ni a w hi le

.

also c onsumi ng time and labor $ E xcept where a very ne

seed bed i s desired with considerable humus presen t i t i s b e
, ,

liev e d t he compost heap will go ou t and commerci al manures

wi ll be used i n i t s place for forcing purposes .

In t he matter of d rainage t he old theory obt a ined t hat we

,

wanted to draw o ff the water from t he soil in order to admi t

air and warmth and also a ff ord a bet t er chance for the
,

roots t o permeate through the soil This is all true t oday .

,

but we have found tha t this is only a small part of t he advan t age
of drainage The paramoun t objec t of drainage i s to promote
.

t he growth of b a cteria i n the soil a li fe whi ch cannot exis t

where there is an excess of water where the soil is t oo compac t , ,

or where the proper amount of air and warmth does not per

meate H ence drainage assists in t he growth of a crop of yeas t
.

plants below the surface of the soil w hi ch are as essen tial t o

,

the growth of the crop above the soil as water and suns hi ne .

In the matter of ne cult ivation the old t heor y of cul tiva ,

tion was t o ki ll not only the weeds bu t to make t he soil li gh t ,

and friable to admit the air to encourage the ci rculation of

, ,

moisture through the soil and t o make i t an acceptable medium

,

for the roots of the crop The moder n t heor y includes the old
.

and also recognizes t he necessity of maki ng the conditions as

favorable as possible for t he growth of soil bacteria Thorough .

cultivation also conserves the mois t ure of the soil by means of

a ne mulch on the surface w hi ch prevents the moisture from
,

evaporating into the atmosphere .

In the Wes t where they carry on dry farming t hat is

,

,

farming without irrigation where t here is li ttle rainfall

t hey have been successful in raising large crops by con tinuous

cultivation keeping the surface like a dust heap t hus retain
, ,

ing the mois ture w hi ch by means of capillary action ha s

, ,

been drawn up from lower levels Mr H a le t he celebrated . .

,

peach grower o f Connecticut keeps horse c ul tivators goin g

'

practically all the time in his orchards during t he growin g ,

season not only t o keep down weeds but t o conserve moisture

, , .

H e calls it
horse leg irriga tion
Thus t he modern farmer .

25
cultivates not solely t o kill weeds and admit warmth and air in t o
the soil but t o encourage the growth of bacteria as well a s
,
$

t he distribution and conservation of so i l mois t ure .

The Sap of the Soil

We frequen t ly hear farmers speak of the sap of t he soil

a p hrase whi ch expresses a great deal All cultivated plants

.

take up t heir food in dilu t e soluti on The s a p of a tree or

.

plan t circulates throu ghou t its system of trunk branches and ,

leaves carryi ng with i t the nourishment necessary for its u p

,

building as doe s the blood in animals This sap has been

, .

absorbed from the soil through the roots of the pla nt and is ,

c harged more or less with plant food ingre di ents which were
ei t her app li ed in a soluble form or were rendered soluble through
bacterial action i n the soil or through t he diges tive process
,

w hi ch takes place in con t ac t with t he roots of pl a nts Manure .

or commercial fertilizers enrich the s a p of the soil by supplying

additi onal quantities of available plan t food Bacteria as we .
,

have seen help t o break down t he organic forms of plant food

,

and render them soluble for the s a p of the soil to a bsorb .

P o t e nt i a l F ert i l it y

C he mi stry t eaches u s that plants are composed of certain

xed elements which are supplied by the soil and the air It .

further teaches that w hi le there is an abundant supply ye t ,

we have exhausted the three leading elements nitrogen p hos , ,

p h o r ic acid and po t ash in available forms ; t hat s o -calle d

barren or unproductive soils m a y be rich in pl a nt food elements ,

but that t hese element s are s o locked up as t o be of little value

to the commercial farmer whose chief concern is quick crops for
,

quick returns In other words the available plant food (nitro

.

gen phospho ri c acid and potash) has been exhausted leaving

, ,

o nly the unavailable or wha t is known as the po t ential fertili ty ,

w hi ch by t he slow processes of nature is yielded up too slowly

, ,

to be depended upon by the commercial farmer .

It has been known for a long ti m e that practically all

tillable soils are ri ch i n all plan t food elements and yet man y ,

o f t hem are barren and most of them will not produce pr o t

26
able crops without the aid of manure or fertilizer Prof Fred . .

erick D Chester of the D el aware Agricultural College st a tes $

.
, ,

ver g e f the re sult f 4 9 n ly e o f the typ i ca l o il s f the
An a a o s o a a s s s o

U n i ted St t e s h wed per cre for t he r s t e igh t i n che

a s o f urf ce a s o s a

f n i tr g e n f ph ph r i c c i d n d
,

lb s o lb s
o lb f p t h o os o a a s o o as

The a ver g e y i eld f whe t in the U n ited St te i 14 bu hels per cre

. . . .
,

a o a a s s s a

S uch cr p wi ll rem ve lb o f n i tr g e n f ph ph r i c c i d
.

a o lb
o s . o ,
s . o os o a

and lb s f p t h o o as

N w i f ll t he p o t e nt i l n itr ge n ph ph r i c c i d a n d p t h
. .

o a a o os o a o as

c uld be re n dered v i l ble there i pre ent in uch n ver g e i l

, ,

o a a a s s s a a a so

in the rs t e igh t i n che en u gh n itr gen t l t 90 ye r enough ph s

, ,

s, o o o as a s, o

p h i c
or c a i d f 5 00 ye r s n
or d e n u g h p t h f o 1000aye r a o o as r a s

Th i s i wh t i m e nt by p tenti l i l fertil ity n d yet uch

.

s a s a o a so a s a

oil p o e i n g th i m e h igh p otenti l ferti l ity m y un der cert i n n

,

s ss ss s sa a a , a co

d it io n be s, ctu lly b rren f re ult t the f rm er t le d h im t o

so a a a o s s o a as o a

bel i eve it b lutely dev i d of pl nt foo d

a so o a .

In a word potential fertility represents pl a nt food which

,

is so tightly locked up th a t it is not av a il able for present needs ,

and beco m es av a ila ble only through the process of decay and
d isintegration which is too uncertain to meet t he require
,

m ents of modern intensive farming , .

The Lit t le B al a n ce

Therefore in modern practice instead of aski ng the soil

, ,

h ow much of the potenti a l fertility c a n be depended upon for

e a ch crop or what the natural yield will be (a question
,

which will never be s a tisfa ctorily answered ) W e now apply ,

W hat we believe to be necessary to produce the maxi m um yield

over and ab ove the natural yield of the land In a ll c a ses we .

nd th a t the actu a l requirements of plan t food for various crops

are very small indeed in many c a ses less than a grain of ,

available plant food to each pound of soil so little t o pro

duce s o much and yet if i t is absent the crop will be a
, ,

failure It is t his little essenti a l b alance of av a il a ble pl a nt

.
,

food which stands between success and failure and which con
cerns the modern fa rmer today .

27
 S table M anure
an d

C ommercial Fertiliz ers

It i s es ti mated that a cord of s t able manure weighi ng ,

lbs con t ai ns on t he avera ge 50 lbs of plant food wort h abou t

.
, , , .
,

$ 3 t he remainder
, lbs ) be i n g wa t er s t raw and or gani c
.
,

ma tt er For t he 50 lbs of plan t food t o be rendered avai lable

. .
,

we are dependen t very lar gely upon b ac t eri al ac ti on in t he

manure and i n t he soil I n the old days wi t h cheap labor we
.
, ,

composted manure i n advance i n order t o hasten the process

of decomposition and i ncrease it s availabilit y Now as a .
,

rule dependin g upon commerci al manures for active avai l

,

able plant food we apply the manure on t he soil directly as we

,

produce i t or receive it from city s t ables .

While t here are only 50 lbs of actual plan t food (ni t ro gen .
,

phosphoric acid and potash) in a cord of manure ye t we mus t ,

no t overlook t he value of t he or gani c ma tt er s t raw e t c no t , , .

,

only for t he humus w hi c h is added t o the soi l by means of t he

manure bu t also for t he improved physi cal condition w hi ch
,

it i mparts t o t he soil T hi s humus no commercial manure

.

supplies and i n t his respec t stable manure is superior to com

,

m er c ial manures ; bu t the value of t his excessive amoun t of

humus i n stable manure as a source of plant food depends , , ,

as we have seen no t only up on a t horough dis t ribu tion of the

,

manure in the soil but c hi ey on normal condi ti o ns of warmth

,

and moist u re in order tha t bac t erial ac tion may be induced

,

and by means of w hi ch i t is rendered available T hus when .

,

we rely solely on stable manure we are more dependen t on ,

wea t her conditi ons t han when we apply pre di ges t ed fertilizers ,

or part fertili zer and part manure .

S table manure as a b y product of t he farm w i ll be a favorit e

-
, ,

source of fertilit y partly because of i ts plant food and c hi ey b e

,

cau se of t he humus it supplies bu t i n marke t garde ning and in gen

,

eral farm prac tice the best resul t s will be ob t ained when
i t i s used i n connection with che mi cal manures On t he o t her .

hand che mi cal manures no t only supply in a concentrated

,

way needed plant food bu t supply i t in forms that a nt icip at e

, ,

28
su pplement and i n ome c ase s pr omot e b ac t e ri al ac ti on
s ,

withou t w hi c h s t able manure a nd eve n t he organi c portio n ,

of the fert ilizer would be b arren in resul t s The pro gressive

, .

farmer t herefore supplemen t s and i mproves his s t able manure

, ,

by t he u se of concentra te d ferti li zers i n t he same way t ha t he

suppleme nts and i mproves hi s hay wi t h t he u se of co nce nt ra t ed
grai n foods i n feedi n g his s t ock .

W hi le it is absolut ely t rue t ha t s t able manure is a g ood

source of fert ilit y ye t it i s by no means t he c heapes t i f one ha s
,

t o buy it nei t her is it absolu t ely essen tial i n t he growin g of

,

many farm crops T hi s is shown by t he enormous and rapidly

.

increasin g areas w hi ch are plan t ed annually t o corn co t ton , ,

tobacco w heat po t a toes and ve ge t ables on commerci al fer

, ,

t iliz er s as t he sole dependence i n t he mat t er of plan t food In .

fact t he bes t po t atoes and ve ge t ables are no w grown on com

,

m e r cial ferti lizers a s a rule .

I nci den t ally it s hould be no ted t ha t twen t y years a g o

,

manure sold in cit y s t ables a t abou t $ 10 a cord Today .

,

unless a s t able i s very advan t ageously loca t ed farmers and ,

gardeners are g e ttin g manure a t a nominal pri ce and in many , ,

cases for t he hauli ng The i n t roduc tion of commercial man u res

, .

has been one of t he causes of t he reducti on in t he price of stable

manure for whi c h t he farmers s hould be t hankful
, .

The Germans have a p hrase w hi c h signi es manure sick

land . Wit h cheap s t able manure we are likely t o have such a
cond iti on around larg e citi es On suc h land commerci al ma .

n u r e s sho ul d be applied and occasionally li me or wood ashes, ,

in order t o promote t he sli g h tly alkali ne conditi on of the

soil w hi c h i s necessary for sa tisfac t ory crop grow t h .

Fi nally t he ques ti on as be tween t he purc hase of s t ab le

,

manure and commerci al fertili zers re solves it self i n t o two

'

part s $ Firs t$ D o one s soil and the c haracter of the $

crops t o be grown requi re t he excessive humus of s t able

manure for t he mos t protable returns $ S econd $ H ow much
c a n one a ff ord t o pay for t his humu s knowin g t ha t i t can often ,

be obtai ned or all t ha t i s needed by a ro t a tion of crops or by

, ,

plowi n g i n s t ubble or green crops $ Assumi ng t hat t he actual

plant food in a cord of s t able manure i s wort h on a fertilizer ,

basis $ 3 per cord w ha t i s t he humus t he remai nder of the

, , ,

cord wort h and how much will it cost t o haul or fre ight it and
, ,

apply it t o one s own s oil a nd crop requi remen ts $

$

29
 I ntensiv e Farming

Progressive farmers a nd market gardeners are carryi ng o n

intensive agriculture They produce abnormal crops and there
.

fore requi re intensive met hods of cultivation and feedin g A .

po t a t o plant left t o itself and in the state of na t ure produces

potato balls Man by modern methods of cultivation and selectio n
.
,

of seed has changed the na t ure of the plant t o produce t ubers

, .

A cabbage left t o itself would run to a seed stalk but we cul ,

t iv a t e i t for its head alone w hi ch is an aggregation of leave s

,

t ha t are very palatable as a food for man but quite e xhaustive ,

of the soil As we have changed t he nature of most of our

.

cultivated crops s o we must change our m ethods of cul tiv a

,

tion and especially our methods of feeding them The old .

method of relying wholly on st able manure raw or composted ,

waitin g on the slow processes of nature to render i t available

must give way to quicker and surer methods for t he commerci al

farmer and gardener of t oday .

Wh at They Ar e D o i n g in E ur o p e

About the middle of t he last century a ligh t house known ,

a s D unston Pillar was buil t o n Lincoln H ea t h in Lincolns hi re

, ,
o
,

England I t was erec t ed to gui de travelers over a trackless

. ,

barren waste a very desert almost in the heart of England

, , ,

and long i t served its useful purpose The pillar no longer a .

,

li g hthouse now stands in the midst of a rich and fertile farm

,

ing re gi on where all the land is in hi gh cultiva t ion For many

, .

years no b arren heath has been visible even from its top
,
.

S uch is the sto r y told by the veteran agri cultural chemist t he late ,

Profe ssor Johnson of Connecticut to w hi ch the late Professor

, ,

H a d not chemists busied t hemselves to nd out

Atwater adds $
what makes plants grow and had practical farmers not been
,

ready to use their discoveries Lincoln H eath would still ,

remain a waste Wha t is true of this bit of English soil i s t ru e

.

in greater or less degr ee of wide areas of our own and o t her

l a nds
.

Prince K ropotkin of France a Russian exi le i n an article , ,

on The Coming Reign of Plenty wri tes $

,

30
per acre bu t demand and actually receive $ 500
,
and if , ,

covered wi th glass fully , net per acre These pro .

g r e s s iv e men like,
the P aris gardener a lso defy climate and soil
, .

We will not attempt t o detail the steps w hi ch have led up

to t hi s satisfactory condition for b oth producer and consumer .

S uf ce it t o say t hat i t is due part ly t o intensive methods which

have been worked ou t by practical hard -headed men and , ,

partly to sci en tic research It i s a splendid example of S cience

.

and Practice goin g hand in hand o f the se lection and breedi ng

of seeds and plants of successfully comb a ting plan t di seases

,

and insects of conserving and di st ri buting the needed moisture

, ,

and nally of utili z ing all the sources and forces of fertili t y
, ,
.

Pl a nt F o o d S u pp ly

As manufacturers studying ways and means of supplyin g

,

the plant food which is required by intensive m ethods in so m e

sections and by wasteful methods in other sections we are ,

often asked where i t is a ll coming from and if we can keep up ,

with t he de m and K nowing what science has done and is

capable of doing we have no fear but that so far as plant food is
,

concerned we shall nd the needed supply Just now our chief .

concern is for nitrogen and potash D iscoveries will render the .

nitrogen of the air a v a ilable in fact discove ries which are

-
,

claimed to b e a commercial success have a lready been made The .

bac t eri olo gist through his study of life of the soil will also
, ,

help us in this direction We are now through the e fforts of

.
,

the chemist also utili z ing numerous b y-products of our in

,

d u st rie s which a few years ago were thrown away while new and ,

ex t ensive discoveries of phosphoric acid in the shape of mineral ,

phosphates are being made

, It only rem a ins now to nd
.

some n a tive source of potash like that in N ort h Germany , ,

or some feasible way of rendering av a il a ble the potash in

feldspar rocks Then we shall have rounded out the circle
.

in Amer i ca .

32
 T h e Ap p l i c a t i o n o f

Fertiliz ers

Alm ost as muc h depends upon t he proper use of fertili zers

a s upon their composition We mus t rememb er t hat chemi
.

c ally prepared fertilizers are p r ep a r ed p la nt f oods ; t ha t for

b es t results they should b e applied t o a properly prepared seed
b ed or eld To feed highly concen t rated foods t o an old
.
,

winded horse or a sickly cow exposed t o t he cold and we t i s ,

usually money and lab or t hrown away ; s o it is money and

lab or poorly expended to buy commercial manures and apply
t hem t o sour wet half b aked land or t o land half plowed and
,

, ,

poorly prepared .

Agai n it is money poorly expended t o apply che mi cal

,

manures t o land where poor seed is used or where aft er t he , ,

crop has come up i t i s neglec t ed Weeds as well as cul ti va t ed

, .
,

crops thrive on fert i lizers The only meri t whic h weeds posses s
, .

( if they possess any merit a t all ) i s t h at t hey sometimes do for

the farmer wha t he has neglec t ed t o do for himself If he .

neglec t s to cultivate and protec t the ori gi nal crop whic h i t i s

g ood for hi m and t he soil t o grow provided it is properly grown, ,

weeds s t ep i n and cover t he ground protecting i t and when , ,

plowed in supply a cert ai n amoun t of plan t food and humus

$

that is good for t he soil .

N ature ab hors a b are spo t s o s he se t s to work to cover

,

up b are spots with so m e sort of growth even if i t b e only nox ,

ious weeds In t his sense t hey are a sort of ca t ch or cover

.

c rop, occupyi ng t he land un til a b e tt er crop takes their place .

If there is any comfort in t hi s view of t he weed question t he ,

shiftless farmer i s welcome t o i t ; bu t we do no t recommend

fertilizers t o grow weeds even as ca t c h or cover crops Fe r .

t iliz e r s are too costly for t ha t purpose D ir t is describ ed a s .

matter out of place ; a weed is a grow t h w hi ch i s out of place .

D o not tolerate i t an yw here and certainly not on land w hi ch has

,

b een enriched wi th chemical manures for which one ha s paid

g ood money (S ee N o t e p
.
, .

33
 The modern farmer keeps the horse cultivator going almo s t
constantly H e does not wait until the weeds have come up
.
,

bu t he nips them b efore or as soon as they have germinated ,

t hus not only des t roying t he seed or the weed itself bu t befor e ,

i t has g ot a footin g and long b efore it can go t o seed to repro ,

d uce itself in the same eld ano t her year I n fact t he moder n .
,

farmer cultivates not t o destroy half grown or full -grown weeds

-
,

bu t for the good of cultiva tion itself t o keep the surface o f

the so i l in a ne fri able condition to form a mulc h on t he s u r
, ,

face whic h is known to conserve t he mois t ure of the soil and

thus to offset the e ffect of drouth ; also to thorou g hly mix t he
fertilizer or manure with the soil i n order t hat eac h pound of
soil may have i t s grain of plan t food and in order tha t t he ,

lit t le roo t le t s may have an easier and b etter place in whic h t o

feed Finally he cultivates to admi t the air and warmth in
.
,

order to promote a crop of b acteria in the soil without whic h ,

the crop ab ove the soil will no t t hrive .

The modern farm er t herefore cultivates t o enri ch his , ,

soi l for t hat is what he really does when he conserves mois t ure
,

and encourages the growt h of b acteria The killing of weed s .

is only incidental In fact if he has b een t horough in his pre .

,

v io u s treatment of t he soil he practically has no weeds to kill , ,

for they have b een culti v ated to extinction except in case of ,

frequen t applica t ions of s t able manure .

To thousands of prac t ical farmers in the E as t and t o ,

many dry farmers in the West weeds and ordinary drout h ,

are no t error they do not enter into their c alculations ;

,

but these advanced farmers cult i vate and cultiva t e and still , ,

cultivate Thus their crops thri ve and they thrive with them
. .

$ educe Acre a g e a nd I nt n s i f e y Tre at m e nt

T his leads us t o recommend a reduc t ion in the amoun t o f
land cultiva t ed and to apply the same quantity or even mor e
,

fertili z er per acre to the reduced area We also recommend .

tha t hi gh -grade ferti lizers b e used for in t he end t hey a r e ,

cheapest The overhead or g eneral expenses w hich must b e

.

Na r m S nc w t ng a o ( ag ) a out w d s auth o h a d at
t he b b t he has
u c t ng a ucc ssful a t g a d n stat that fa o d a g owt of w d
i e ri i ve p e 33 ee , r e r , a

b li m ee i m he h
ch f c o w as atu d ha st d n o d t o cat c an d h o d s o lu
r ke ee s

a ft
p . s e r e er e v re r

m h l b le
lan t foo d w h c h g t l ft o n s o w d t o l ow d un d n l at fa l
er t he ie r p re or rve e , i r er any

i mi h be i t he i l ; t he be p i l
ng
p e v er ee s e er e

or e a l
r y spri .

34
a dded on t o a t on t ha t sells for $ 30 or $ 4 0 are no g rea t er in
a mount t han mus t be added on to a t on that sells for $ 15 ,

Th e cost o f pr epa r a t ion b a g s freig h t e t c i s t he same in eac h cas e

, , ,
. .

We make t hi s recommendation no t so much t o increase

our sales as t o increase you r prots T here are farmers who .

apply from to lb s of high grade fert ilizer to an acre

-
.

o f po t atoes fer t ilizer t ha t is twice or t hree t imes as ri c h as

t hat used in some o t her sec tions of t he coun t ry As a result .

,

c oupled with t horough cultivation they grow 3 00 b ushels of ,

potatoes to the acre Is not t he uni t cos t of a bus hel of pot a

.

t oes muc h less when 30 0 bushels are grown on one acre t han
w hen they are grown on t hr ee or s ix acres $
S uccessful manufacturers seek to reduce uni t cost a nd ,

to t hat end t hey seek b y modern me t hods and mac hinery to

increase the production of t heir factories We b elieve i t would .

pay farmers in order to reduce t he uni t cos t o f a b us hel o f

,

po t atoes or a bushel of wheat to cover less land and to cult i

,

v ate i t b etter usin g not only more fertilizer per acre but a
, ,

higher quality The average yi eld of whea t i n t he U nited

.

S tates is 14 bushels per acre and ye t t here are farmers g ettin g

,

3 0 and 3 5 bushels per acre The average yield of corn i s less

.

than 3 0 bushels per acre and ye t there are farmers in the E ast
,

who on what would b e regarded in the West as b arren land

, ,

by t he applica t ion of lb s of hi gh grade fertili z er and good

-
.

c ultivat i on are harvesting 75 and 100 bushels of shelled corn

,

per acre I t is obvious that where we i ntensify the t rea t men t

.
,

that is enri c h and cultivate b etter we can materially reduce

, ,

t he labor cost as well as increase production .

35
 G e n e ra l Di re c ti o n s

W here fertilizers are used li berally s a y from

B road ca s t $ ,

to lb s per acre and w it hou t s t a ble ma nu r e

.
, ,

a broadcas t application is usually safest I t should no t .

b e plowed in or applied muc h in advance of seeding It .

should b e worked in w i th a w heel harrow or horse cultivator ,

and t horoughly mingled w i t h the t op surface of the soil .

U nless one has a broadcas t sower i t i s well t o apply one -half

,

walki n g in one direc t ion (north and south) and the remainder ,

i n the opposi t e direction ( east and west ) One who can sow .

a few bushels of grass seed over an acre can easily b roadcas t

fer t ilizer .

S ome farmers mix t he fertilizer wi t h a quantity of dry

ear t h in order to increase t he bulk S till o t hers mix i t wit h.

several loads of ne s t able manure and then put it t hrou g h an

ord i nary manure spreader the po i n t b eing to get it appli ed
,

as evenly and c heaply as possible .

Pa r t br oad ca s t a nd p a r t in hill or dr i ll$ Where fertilizers are

used ex t ensively and exclusively prob ably more is used par t
,

broadcas t and t he remainder in the hill or drill than in any o t her

way Thi s me t hod gives the crop something to feed upon a t t he
.

start b efore i t has developed an extensive root system Thi s .

custom is quite generally followed i n the c ase of I ndian corn ,

pota t oes and some vegetables Where par t manure is applied

.

and part fertilizer the manure i s rarely compos t ed b u t i s spread

, ,

broadcas t as it comes from t he yard cellar or pi t and wheel , ,

harrowed in t o the soil while t he fer t ilizer i s applied in t he hi ll

,

or drill .

H ill a nd dr ill a ppli ca t ion $ The old way was t o apply all
t he fer tilizer in t he hill or dri ll and this i s still a good way if
,

it is b eing used on crops with small root sys t ems such as the
small grains and some roo t crops possess bu t care should b e ,

exercised no t t o place i t in con t ac t wit h the seed or young roots .

A good fertili zer will burn unless i t is mixed with t he soil and ,

if i t did no t burn t he expert user would conde m n it with

,

some reason .

The m odern drills or plan t ers are s o tt ed as t o distribu t e

36
 and cover fert ilizer in advance of t he seed Where the mac hine .

does this thorou g hly i t i s one of t he cheapest and b es t ways

,

to apply fer t ilizer for many crops S ome farmers furrow their .

land and then s ow t he fertili zer alon g t he furrows and kick

e a rt h over it where the seed is dropped When it is applied .

directly i n t he hi ll it s hould never b e t hrown in handfuls i n

,

one spo t b u t scat t ered over t he ground where t he hi ll i s t o

,

b e and ear t h k i cked over it b efore t he seed i s dropped

, .

After a li ttle practice one ge t s the knack of successfully apply

ing fer tilizer by hand or with machines .

Fr equ ent a ppli ca t i ons $ Where fertili zers are used i n heavy
doses and exclusively farmers frequently apply a por ti on at
,

seedi ng ti me and the remainder b e tween t he rows or dri lls as

the crop i s cultivated T his i s part icularly recommended for
.

many hoed crops and especially on li gh t soils with a t endency

to leac hi n g
.Feed the crop a li t t le at a t ime and often

is
not a b ad mo tt o especially w hen it can b e done withou t much
,

extra cos t for lab or This course i s b eing followed in many

.

sections when t he crop is b ac kw ard or when i t needs t o b e

forced i n the mi ddle of t he season More and more fer t ilizer .

is b ein g used in t his way .

Wher e t o U se M a n ure a nd Where to

U se F ert i l i er s
z

As a rule i t will not pay t o buy and h aul manure t o t he

,

farm but what is produced on t he farm a s a b y-produc t should

,

b e used ab out as follows $

Firs t $ As manure is bulky and heavy for t he plan t food
whic h i t contains (not over 50 lb s i n a cord weighing no t less .
,

th a n two tons ) i t is b es t t o u s e i t near t he b arn or on elds

,

e asily accessible and fertilizers on elds which are some dis

,

tance o ff or hard to reach It is di f cul t t o compare fertilizers

.

and manure but generally speaking one b ag of good fertilizer

, , ,

con t ains more plant food than a bi g cartload of manure .

S econd $ As the bulk of manure is humus organic ma tt er ,

( hay and s t raw ) it is also good practice t o u se i t in lar g er

,

quantit i es on heavy soils whic h need lightening and warming

up and also on ligh t gravelly soils w hi ch n eed the humus
, ,

of t he manure to improve t exture and to retain mois t ure M a .

$

37
 nure used on such elds and espec i ally i n connection with c he mi
,

c al fert ilizers wi ll prove b es t in the long run

, .

Thi rd $ As manure i s slower in its ac t ion t han chemically

prepared fertilizers i t i s usually b e t ter practice t o use it in
,

lar g e quantities in seedin g down land t o grass or on crop s

w hich take the longest period to mature and t o use fer tilizers ,

on hoed crop s and especially on crops whic h mature in from

,

60 to 90 days such as po t atoes vegetables and corn

, , I n fact .
,

the b est po t a t oes are now grown on fertilizer alone since t hey ,

are more meal y and less scabby than when grown on manure .

Therefore generally speaki ng quick -growin g hoed crops

, , ,

should b e planted on fertilizers and grass on manure usi ng

, ,

t he manure for seeding do w n in much larger quantities t han

formerly Fertilizers can b e reli ed upon as the sole and cheapes t
.

source of plant food for all crops and on all soils Rememb er .

that a o ne hor s efload gof j er t i lizer will fertili z e from one to four
-

acres tha t would requi re from twen t y t o forty t w o-horse load s

of manure .

Fertili zers are also good for all grain crops especially w hea t , ,

sown b roadcas t or dri lled in with t he seed to insure a good ,

c atch sti ffen t he s t raw i ncrease the yi eld and t o give a plump
, , , ,

h andsome kernel and strong healthy roots whic h w i ll stand

,

the winter and t he attacks of insec t s .

38

S eeding $ The seed (consisting of small po t a t oes ab out
t he size of hen s eggs ) is cut usually with t wo eyes to eac h
$

piece and dropped from 10 to 14 inches apar t in the furrows .

The t endency i s however to reduce t he distance between

, ,

t he rows t o plan t t he seed t hicker and to use a li ttle more

, ,

fertilizer i n order t o encourage a larger growth of t able S i z e -

po t atoes The seed i s covered from 2 to 4 inches deep

.
,

and it takes ab ou t 15 bushels per acre .

Amou nt of Fer t ilizer $ The quanti t y of ferti li zer
appli ed per acre will vary wi t h i t s stren gt h but the usual ,

practice i s t o apply i n t he rows from to pound s

per acre of a grade t ha t averages t o t es t 4 t o 5 % of ammo
,

nia 6 t o 8 % of available phosphoric acid and 7 t o 10 % of

, ,

po t ash S ome farmers favor the hi gher percenta ge of a m mo

.

ni a t o force growth in our northern lati t ude and the highe r ,

percentage of potash t o benet the clover crop w hi c h follows

i n rotation The usual practice in t hi s section i s t o apply
.

all t he fert ilizer at ti m e of planting .

C u lt i va t i on $ As soon as the pota t o tops be gi n t o

show t hey are c overed from 2 to 3 inches deep with d i r t

,

with a two horse hoe T hi s is called covering and

- .
$
,
$

pro t ec t s t hem from fros t Besides t he po t atoes S eem t o.

come up s t ronger than where i t is no t done When t he .

c overing is nished we b egin to culti va t e deeply between

,

the rows ; and when t he vines are ab ou t 3 inches high we ,

ridge t he earth up with a two -horse hoe T hi s is called .

hillin g Ab out a week or ten days later we hill again

$ $
.
, ,

piling more eart h around t he stalks We keep t he cul ti .

-

v a t or going between each hi lli ng and nally when t he tops , ,

a r e too hi gh for a two -horse hoe we use a one -horse spade ,

plow w hi ch throws the dirt b oth ways ; and t hi s end s t he

culti vation .

S pr a yi ng $ We begi n to spray when the potatoes are 6

to 8 inches hi gh using B ordeaux Mi x ture and continue it

, ,

during the season in all ab out six or seven times D uring

, , .

the rst two or three sprayings we add porson to kill the ,

pota t o bugs If well sprayed the t 0 ps keep green and

.
,

growing until t he frost kills them w hich is ab out the 20t h ,

of S eptemb er .

H a r ves t i ng $ The potatoes are dug with a two -horse
digger be ginning ab out the l st of S eptember They a r e
, .

40
 picked up by hand bu t those smaller than hens eggs, ,
$

are left on the ground and afterwards t aken to s t arch

factories The marketable potatoes are stored in po t ato
.

houses built for t he purpose and durin g the win t er are ,

sort ed and hauled to market .

I t should b e added that t he ab ove practi ce will prob ably

not b e applicable to all sections of the country In many s ec .

tions it is found b est not t o apply all t he fert ilizer in one way ,

but ab out one half broadcast and t he remainder in the furrows

- .

P o t at o e s
Us u al M et hod $
A large pota t o crop absorb s a large amount
of plant food As po t atoes make the best part of their growt h
.

i n sixty days the manure or fertilizer mus t b e in an available

,

c ondition especially when the tubers are formin g For t ha t

, .

reason fertilizers are found b etter for potatoes than s t able

manure As a rule a properly made fertilizer for potatoes wi ll
.
,

produce tubers that are fair smooth and mealy , .

If the soil is naturally rich or ha s b een made so by pre

vio n s u se of manure or a green crop plowed under 800 to ,

lb s of a high grade potato m anure wi ll b e su fcien t for an acre

.
-
,

app li ed in the furrows and mixed thoroughly with the soil

b efore the seed is dropped If no manure is applied or green .
,

crop plowed in apply from , to lbs per acre If . .

the potatoes are planted in hi lls a small handful s hould b e ,

sprinkled (not dropped ) in each hi ll mi xed and covered with ,

soil Many potato growers nd it protable to u s e from

.

to lbs per acre depending on the quali ty of the fertilizer

.
, ,

character of soil and previous treat m ent one -half app li ed ,

broadcast and the remainder strewn along the furrows .

In d i an C o r n S w eet C o r n
, a nd E nsi l age
Corn is b oth a grain and a forage cr 0 p It rarely fails if i t .

has su f cient plant food I t possesses an extensive root sys t em

and is no doub t a nitrogen gat herer for it t hrives b es t in ho t ,

weather when b acterial action is greatest in the soil bu t b efore ,

the ho t weather sets in and later when the crop is maturing

, ,

it mus t b e nouri shed with active plan t food .

41
 If grown exclusi v ely on ferti lizers a pply from 800 t o ,

lb s per acre depending on the s trength of ferti lizer soil e t c

. , , , .

S ow three fourths broadcas t and harr ow it i n t o the soil apply

-
,

ing one -fourth in the hi lls or drills and t horoughly mix and cove r
wit h soil Or all of i t may b e applied with a modern farm drill
.

if all the tubes are left O pen If t he soil is poor or run out a
.
,

larger quantity should be used When planting on green .

sward 600 lbs per acre will b e su f cient especially if the sod
,
.
,

is a heavy one and w as turned over in the spring .

Fertilizer for corn should b e used in t he same way as manure ,

that is a larger quan t ity on a poor eld and a smaller qu a ntity

,

on a ri ch eld If manure is used i n connec tion with fertilizer

.
,

spread the manure broadcast b efore plowing and wheel -harrow

or plow i t in applying the fertilizer in the furrows or drills
, ,

thoroughly mixing it with t he soil If the corn does not co m e .

forward for any cause like a cold wet spring 200 or 300 lb s
, , , .

may b e hoed or cultivated in at the rst or second hoeing .

S m a ll r a i n s ( Whe at $ ye O at s
G , , ,

B a rley a n d Buckw he at )
Apply from 400 t o 600 lb s per acre depending on t he .
,

strength of fertilizer charac t er of soil etc As small grain s

, , .

are shallow feeders we recommend t ha t t he fertilizer b e drilled

,

in wi t h the seed allowing the fert ilizer to run in all t he t ub es

, ,

provided t he drill sows the fertili zer in advance and covers or

mi xes i t with ear t h so that the seed does no t come in contac t
wi t h clear fertili z er If t he grain is sown broadcas t then sow
.
,

the fer tili zer broadcas t in advance of seedin g .

Top D re s s i n g G r as s a nd Ot her Cro p s

Chemically prepared fertili z ers t hose w hi ch are soluble and ,

available are no doub t better for a surface dressin g t han s t abl e

,

manure because t hey di ssolve wi t h the rs t rains or heavy

,

dews and i mmediately en t er the soil and b e gi n t o nourish t he

crop whereas manure applied on t he surface is exposed t o
,

waste Grass takes from the soil a large a m ount of plant food
. ,

which is usu a lly app li ed in the spring m onths although it is ,

often put on after haying for the rowen crop Apply from .

42
4 00 to lb s per acre sown broadcas t The t rue princi pl e
600 .
,
.

o f manurin g mowin g lands and pastures especi ally on light ,

leachy soils is t o apply a little at a ti me and often ; that is to

, ,

top dress wi t h a modera t e quantity a t least twice durin g the

season .

Top D re s s i n g W i nt er G rai ns
In the sprin g after a par t icularly hard win t er i t i s often
, ,

necessary t o apply somethin g to bring t he crop along The .

b est t hi ng for thi s purpose is a soluble acti ve fertilizer It ,

.

will promote vigorous early ma t urity and often t urn expected ,

failure into success Apply from 200 to 4 00 lb s broadcas t

. .

when t he leaves are dry .

S eed i n g or St o cki n g D o w n L an d

There i s no doub t tha t stable manure is an excellen t kind

o f fer t ilizer for stocking down land c hi ey because it adds ,

humus t o the soil and is slower in its e ff ects Fo r that .

reason we recomm end using stable manure liberally for seed

,

in g down and ferti li zers on hoed cr 0 ps It is best how

, .
,

ever to u s e a little quick -acting fertilizer with the manure in

,

order to i ns u r e a good catch in other words to feed the young , ,

grass roots which are shallow feeders b efore t he manure is

, ,

decomposed and ready to nourish For this purpose apply .

from 200 to 4 00 lb s sown broadcas t and lightly harrowed or

.
,

brushed into the soil before the seed is sown If no manure is .

applied u s e from 600 t o

, lb s per acre . .

F o dder C r o p s ( H u n g a r i a n M i lle t , , Pe a s ,

O at s B a rley e t c ) , , .

Used for S ai ling Apply from 400 t o 600 or t o be C u r ed $

lbs per acre broadcast harrowed i nto t he soil jus t before t he
.
, ,

seed is sown .

$ o ot s

It is true al t hough no t usually b elieved tha t 90 % of

, ,

roots like beets etc is water Growt h of t hi s kind is in fact

, , .
,
.

concentrated leaf growth underground and requi res a large

43
a m ount of fertility in active form to supply the needed
plant food for best develop m ent M ost roots although having
.
,

a co m paratively s m all root system are quick growers hence , ,

ferti li z ers are especially successful on roots Apply from 600 .

to lb s per acre
. depending on the kind grown the
, ,

character of the soil and t he fe rtili z er used S m all roots like .

turnips and carrots do not require as m uch fertili z er as large

roots like m a ngolds a n d rutabaga s The fertili z er is generally
,
.

sown broadcast although for roots w hi ch are grown in drills

,

the fertili z er should be s t rewn along the furrows and b ack

furrowed before the seed is sown ; or it can b e applied a t the
sa m e ti m e the seed is sown if it is thoroughly co v ered and
,

mi x ed with the soil s o that the seed does not co m e in contact

with it If it is drilled in with m achi nes which do not mi x
.

a n d c over the fertili z er it must be diluted with twice a s much

,

dry e a rth or plaster before using for the seeds of root crops,

are very tender .

O nions

If there is a n y crop which needs an acti v e fertili z er it ,

is the onion crop for if it does not grow v igorously it is

,

likely to b e strong in a v or and tough in te x ture The .

m
onion is a bulb with s all feeding roots a h aggregation of

leaves which grow underground and require s a great deal of

quickly a v ail a ble nouri s hm ent If no m a nure is applied use

.
,

fro m to lb s per acre sown broadc a st and harrowed

.
,

into the soil the qu a ntity of course depending on the ch a r a cter

,

of the soil and the strength of the fertili z er As onions are .

di ffi cult to weed and as fertili z er contains no weed seeds it

, ,

is a favorite dressing for onions as well as for most m arket

garden crops or where v er clean culture is necessary
,
.

Ca b b a g e a nd Ca ul i o w er

These crops are gross feeders and qui ck growers ; they also
have a good root system ; therefore they need an abundance of
available plant food For c abbage apply from
. to ,
lbs .

per acre ; for cauliower from to

,
lbs One half of the .
-

fertili z er may be sown broadcast and h a rrowed into the soil and ,

t he re m aining half strewn where the plants are set or it may ,

44
b e hoed i n ab ou t t he plan t s aft er t hey have b een s et I f some .

stable manure is used t he quan tity of ferti li zer can b e reduced

, .

The manure should b e appli ed broadcas t and harrowed i nto t he

soil and t he fertilizer applied ab ou t the plan t s
,
.

C el e ry a nd L e t t uce

T here i s no ques ti on bu t t ha t commercial ferti li zers i mprove

t he quality of celery and let t uce To b e t ender and crisp t hese .
,

crops must grow quickly It i s conceded t ha t t he most t ender

.

and succulent growths are t hose w hi c h are rap i d and con tinuous ,

and t hi s is wha t well -made fertilizers will produce under ri gh t

conditions For lettuce apply a t t he rate of from 4 00 to 600 lb s
.
, .

per acre t o t he seed b ed a li ttle time b efore t he seed is sown .

When t he plants are t ransplan t ed or pricked out apply from ,

to lb s per acre a portion broadcas t and a portion

.
,

around the plants at hoeing time Fo r celery apply (if no .

,

manure is used ) from to lb s per acre one -half when .

,

the plants are t ransplanted alon g the fur rows and the remainder
, ,

when the celery is banked up .

$ i n e s ( S q u as he s M el o n s C ucu m b er s
, , , et c .
)
Nearly all cr 0 ps w hi ch produce large pulpy grow t h need ,

rich and forcing m a nures They are frequen t ly grown on com

.

pos t ed manure or nigh t soil but w i t hout these com m er , ,

c ia l fertilizers are found equally as good If any m anure i s used .

,

apply from to lb s per acre two t hi rds broadcast

- .
, ,

worked into t he soil t hree or four inches deep and one third -
,

sp rinkled in the hi lls ab ou t one pint to each hill thoroughly

, ,

mixed with the soil before the seed is dropped If st able m a .

nure is used apply it broadcast and S prinkle the fertilizer in

, ,

the hills.

T o m at o e s
The t omato b elongs to the same fami ly as the pota t o ,

and li ke the potato requi res a rich soil or a rich fertili z er I f

, , .

no manure is used apply from

, to lbs per acre one .
,

half sown broadcast and worked in t o the soil and the remainder
in t he hills t horoughly mixed with the soil before se t ting the
45
plants That which is sown broadcas t should b e culti vate d
.

into t he soil a t leas t t hree i nches deep .

p
As a r a g u s

The Ameri ca n Ag r i cu lt u r is t

s t a t es $
New Jersey growers of asparagus have found ou t what

S outhern growers were long ago compelled to put into

practice that com m ercial fertilizers are far better for
-
,

asparagus than stable manure ; not that stable manure will

not make ne asparagus but because of the i m possibility ,

of keeping down the weed g rowth when manure is used

.

Asparagus needs ac tive forcing plant food w hi ch manure , ,

does not supply un less i t has b een composted Prob ably nine .

ten t hs of the asparagus is grown on commercial manures which

produce the succulent tender growth desired In starting new , .

plants or maki ng new aspara g us elds apply from 600 to 800 ,

lb s per acre in the drills or furrows very thoroughly mixed

.
,

with the s eil To old elds apply early in the spring from
.
, ,

to lb s per acre between the rows and cultivate it

.

in .

Pe as a nd Be an s
Peas and beans belon g to the clover fa mi ly (legumes) and ,

do no t requi re as much fer tili zer or at least a fertilizer a s rich ,

in nitro gen as do mos t other crops Therefore an application

,
.
,

of 500 to lb s of fertilizer rich in phosphoric ac i d and pot

.

ash sown broadcast and harrowed into the soil is usually

, ,

su f ci ent for peas and beans These crops have an extensi ve root .

system and wi ll gather plant food in every part of the soil and
especially deep i n the soil It is known that alfalfa which b elongs
.
,

to t hi s fa mi ly wi ll send down a root 20 or 3 0 feet for wa t er

, ,

pu t ting out lateral feeders at up per levels For thi s reason peas .

and beans t he clovers a nd alfalfa are grea t catch or cover
,

crops and are valuable in rotation

,
.

S t r aw b err i e s a nd S m a ll F ru i t s

S table manure is a pre tty good thin g wi th which to s t art a

strawb erry bed bu t after it is started active fertilizers are
, ,

needed to encourage a rapid growt h The strawberry is an .

46
and t he seed of frui ts are more exhaustive than w a s formerly sup
posed Besides the tree has to grow and mature a large amoun t
.
,

of new wood each year It t herefore pays t o manure orchards .

generously with a we ll b alanced fert ili zer For frui t trees

- .
,

such as apples pears peaches and plums apply early in the

, , ,

spring at t he rate or 5 t o 25 lb s to each tree according to size .

, ,

broadcas t around the trees ext endin g out as far as the branches ,

reach If possible cul tivate it deeply i n t o the soil If grass

.
,
.

i s growin g under and b e tween t he trees an ad di tional quanti ty ,

s houl d b e a pplied t o supply wha t t he grass will necessarily

absorb Apply ab out 5 lb s t o trees that are t hree or four
. .

i nches in diame t er increasing t he quan tity up to 2 5 lb s for

, .

trees t ha t are t en fteen and twen ty years from setting For

, .

S hade trees apply in the sam e manner as for fruit trees For .

hardy shrub s apply from one pint t o a quart t o each shrub

, ,

or at t he rate of 10 lb s to 200 square fee t of b order worked .

,

in t o the soil evenly and t horoughly .

L wns, F a l o w er Bed s a nd K it che n Ga rde ns

As fert ili zers are free from weed seeds there is no t hi ng s o ,

good for seeding down a lawn or for top -dressing a lawn as a

well made well b alanced fertili z er In preparin g a new lawn
-
,
- .
,

apply from to lbs per acre sown broadcast and .

cultiva t ed into t he soil b efore the seed is sown For top dress, .

ing an old lawn apply from 4 00 to 800 lb s per acre broadcas t

, . .

To ge t i t on evenly it is advisable to apply one -half walking

,

nort h and south and t he remainder east and west For ower .

beds apply it a t the rate of ab ou t 10 lbs t o 400 square feet

, .
,

mix thoroughly with the soil or cultivate it carefully around ,

the plants care b eing taken not to get it in contact with the
,

leaves or young roots .

There is nothing equal to a well b alanced co m plete com -

,

m e r c ia l manure for a kitchen g a rden It produces the quick .

,

tender juicy growth which is desira ble in garden v egetables ;

,

but a kitchen garden should con t a in su f cient humus to retain

m oisture and promote that ne tilth s o de sirable in a garden .

For th a t reason stable manure s hould b e a pplied once in three

or four years although it will add weed seeds to the garden
, ,

which is a v oided in the use of fertili z ers We recomm end for .

kitchen g a rdens an application at the rate of one ton to the acre

48
when no manure is app lie d When manure is use d we r e c om
.
,

mend from 400 to 600 lb s per acre applied in the hi ll or drill

. .

C au ti on $ Fer til iz er sho u l d never be dr appe d in its c l ear

state in c onta c t with s eed you ng r o o t s , or gr ee n l ea ves
, .

r
S p ec i a l C r o p s

We have not included direc tions for use on S pecial cr0 ps ,

such as Cotton Rice Peanuts Citrus Fruits Pineapples

, , , , ,

S ugar Cane etc as t hese crops are specialized and cultiva t ed

, .
,

only in sections where soil and climatic conditions are favorable .

Broadly it may be said t hat the sa m e general principles apply

,

in the fertili z a t ion of these cr 0 ps as in those crops treated in

detail in this book To those crops which make a large quick
.
,

growth of foli age and fruit with large root systems apply a
, ,

generous quantity of fertilizer broadcast or drilled in advance

,

of planting For those crops with small root systems and which
.

are less exhaustive a s m aller quantity of fertili z er m ay be used

,

and all of i t may be applied in the hill or drill .

49

C ommercial $ aluations
an d

G ov ern m ent $ eg u lation

We are of t en asked why the commercial valuations of fer

t iliz er s do not equal t he selling prices Perhaps the bes t way
.

to answer t hi s question is to quote from t he St ate o f ci als who

make t hese valuations .

D irector Jenki ns of t he Connecticut Experiment S ta tion

writes $

The $ aluation only aims to S how the ac t ual cos t a t
$ $

freigh t centers of the plan t food in t he g oods and not a t ,

all the f a ir price a t retail of the mixed and ground goods .

This fair re t ail price mus t in all but excep tional cases b e
considerably hi gher than t he valua tion The valua tion .
$ $

ex clu des a ll of the manufacturer s e x pense sgfor interest

$

depreci a ti on mi xin g b ag gi ng freigh t commissi ons and

, , , ,

b ad debts -e xpenses w hi ch make t he prot of t he manu

,

facturer in few cases unreasonable and in s ome ca s es a

minu s qu a nt i t y I t is an abuse of gu res to u s e our valu
.

a t io ns in any other sense t han as ab ove explained

.

In t he Massachuse tt s Bulletin on Commerci al Ferti

li z ers
we nd t he following s t a t emen t wi t h reference
t o valuations $

T hi s ( di ff erence ) commonly called overhead char ges
,
$

,
$

represen t s the cos t in storing grinding mixi ng b a gging

, , , ,

h a ulin g and freightin g t he goods as well as commi ssions to

,

agents long credi t s deprecia tion of factory plant and

, , ,

pro t s I t i s not surpri sing therefore t ha t valuations

.
, ,

fall below t he re t ail cash prices

.

In t he ermont Bulletin on Commercial Fertilizers
$
Di rector H ills writ es $
S ome buyers co ns t rue t hi s s u m ( the d i ff erence be t ween

valuation and selling pri ce ) t o be t he manufacturer s pro t $

.

S uch a cons t ruc tion is utterly unwarran t ed and only

expli cable on the assumption t ha t in no way wha t soever
50
 have they made t he sligh t est eff ort to grasp t he funda
mental idea of the valuation system Only a fraction of .

t hi s su m represen t s prot Its m ain i tems are freight

.

rates and factory and sales charges I t were quit e as

, .

logi cal t o assume t ha t the di ff erence b etween the retail

cost of a pair of shoes and t he raw leather from w hi ch
they were made were all prot S elling p rices always exceed
.

valuations since the la t ter S how only the seab o a rd values

,

of the un mi xed ingredients and do not include the many

other necessary and le gi timate charges w hi c h accompany
t he m anufac ture and sale of mixed goods
.

We could quote from many other S tate fertili zer reports ,

explaining in the same way the di fference between t he o fcial

v aluation of fert ilizers and the selling price In a word the .
,

di ff erence be t ween the cost of t he raw materials at the s ea

board and t he deli vered selling pri ce for t he nished goods in
t he country covers cert ain xed expenses w hi ch mus t be met
before pro t s can b e considered These expenses are for assem
.

bling the materials grinding chemic a lly trea ting t hem shrink
, , ,

age interest ( 90 % of the goods are sold on crop
, b ags ,

freight wear and t ear (whi ch is heavy in a chemical plant )

, ,

commissi ons to agen t s and nally interest on capital employed .

The unit cost of a quart of milk may not b e over two cents for the
grain a nd hay consum ed by the cow but every farmer know s ,

t ha t he could not aff ord to peddle mi lk at t wo cents a quart H e .

must have somet hi ng t o cover the cost of lab or loss of ani mals , ,

wear and t ear of team in delivering mi lk b ad debts etc , ,

.

S e v eral S t ates which formerly employed t he valuation sys

t em ha v e ab ando ned it as being not only unsound bu t mislead

,

i ng because usually miscons t rued For example $ Many farmers

,
.

construe valuations as represen ting not only commercial value

in the country but a gri cultural or crop producing v alue which
,
-
,

is far from righ t in ei t her case According to the inspector s

.
$

report two fertili z ers may value approxima t ely alike but one
, ,

m a y b e wor t h very much more as a crop producer than the o t her .

The reason for t hi s is that w hile the analysis of the fer tili z er
,

shows the qu a nt i t y i t does not reveal the qu a li t y or cr op va lu e

,

of the plant food whi ch it contains and on that account no

,

valuation can represent eit her t he t rue commerci a l or the agri

cul tural worth Two cows standing side by side in a b arn may
.

51
be worth approxi m ately the same money for beef but the ,

mi lk from one may be much richer th a n t he milk from the

other and greater in quantity N 0 basis of commercial valu
.

a tion is sound t hat does not take into consideration all the
factors t ha t inuence it .

Fur t hermore as the di ff erence b e t ween v alue and selling

,

price is more or less dependent upon local condi tions such a s ,

cos t of freight hauli ng from station storing etc and a s t hi s

, , , .
,

difference may be fur t her modi ed by the pro t charged by

the local agent it seems unfair to subj ect the m a nu fa c
,

turer to criticism for the di fference since it is absolu t ely b e

yond hi s advice or control To go further and m
,

. ake these

di ff erences ,

without knowing all the fac t ors t he basis for ,

G overn m ent co m parison we believe is likely to b e mislea di ng

,

to the consumer as well a s unjust to the manufacturer thus ,

defeating the obj ect of the law which in language and in exe,

c u t io n should aim to protect all interests .

Finally our own view is tha t even if all the f a ctors inu enc
, ,

i n g value could b e deter mi ned commercial valuations would

,

sti ll b e wrong in principle for the reason t ha t the principle

,

w as early establi shed tha t the G overnment would assume to

value merchandise only for purposes of taxation never for com ,

paris on in commer cial t r a ns a ct ions If however the principle

.
, ,

is right why S hould it not be applied t o all lines of business $

,

Why should not mi lk butter cheese hay grain woolen cloth

, , , , ,

and rubber goods be valued by S tate inspectors for purposes

of comparison $
W e want i t unders tood tha t w e ar e s tr ongly in favor of
f ertilizer law s , of o ffi c i al s amplin g anal ys is and pu blicati on
, ,

of r es u l ts in a w or d, of t h e mos t thoro u gh Governm ent inspec

,

tio n I t is a gr eat saf eguar d to t h e business , i t pr otec t s t h e

.

h ones t m anuf a c tu rer as w ell as t h e c o ns um er ; bu t Gover nm ent

r egul a t io n s h ou l d b egin and end with i nsp ec tion, as in oth er
lines of bus in es s .