Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
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Salt as a Fertilizer.

IL
terially in their views as to the efficacy
and economy of the application of
common coarse salt as manure?
Science and theory have long since
clearly demonstrated that it must be bene-
fetal under certain conditions and in GER
tain situations, practice demonstrates that
it has been and is profitable application
under certain conditions and on some soils,
when applied at certain intervals and times.
Some of our best and most practical,
farmers have tried salt applied in various
quantities, to various crops, with complete
success others, equally practical, have
tried it, and after obtaining no benefit from
It, condemn it as humbug.
Fortunate it is for us. who expect to
gain knowledge from the experience of
others, that science and scientific agricul-
turists can reconcile these apparently
opposite facts. Before proceeding farther
to the investigation into the cause of these
failures, l wish to lay down four axioms,
viz: LIST, That the ashes left after the
burning of plant, is composed Of the in
organic part or soil-food Of the plant; I'd,
That this food or inorganic part can only
be obtained from the soil, or through it by
the application of some manure or fertil-
izer Sd, That this inorganic food con-
sists Of from ten to twelve inorganic sub
stances 4th, That each species of plant,
in order to secure full crop, must have
its proper amount in each substance, and
will, no matter how much may exist in
the soil, appropriate but little or no more
than its particular portion. Keeping these
facts in remembrance, let us investigate
some of the causes which led to these fail
ures, all of which, had we a fair and exact
analysis of the soil, could be accounted
for.
We know that salt is composed mainly
of chlorine and soda, both of which enter
into the composition of all or nearly all
plants and grains. Now, soils may con-
tain enough of both chlorine and soda, in
some other form, to supply the wants Of
the plants, as for instance, chloride of lime
or sulphate of soda. In this case, accord
ing to our fourth axiom, the application
of salt would produce little or no sensible
effect. IF, on the other hand, the soil
should contain too small portion of
chlorine or soda to supply the wants OF
the plant, the application of salt would
produce good effect.
Some three or four years ago one of my
neighbors concluded to try salt as a top
dressing for oats, and applied it broadcast
before the drill, at the rate of two and one
half bushels per acre over nearly all his
field, and found that it increased the grain
both in yield and weight and the straw
was brighter, making better winter prov
ender. This satisfied him that salt was
good application for oats and in order to
see whether it was good for wheat, he gave
the field another top-dressing of salt, at
the rate of two bushels per acre. At har-
vest he could detect no difference between
the crop on the portion to which the salt
was applied, and that which had no other
stimulant than farmyard manure. He had
made great discovery, viz that salt was
good for oats, but bad for wheat. Such
conclusion is just the reverse of the facts
as ascertained by careful experiment, for
salt has always been found more beneficial
to wheat than to oats. Perhaps your
readers will ask, why then was it so in his
case? Simply because he fell into the er-
ror, too common among those who apply
concentrated manures or fertilizers: find.
ing that one application was good, he con,
GUIDED that another OF the same substance
would produce like effect We must re-
member that the amount of any one inor-
ganic substance removed by one single
crop is comparatively small, hence one
applcatlcation may supply enough for the
course the second application would pro-
duce no effect until the first was entirely
exhausted This is not only true with
salt, but also Of phosphate of lime, guano,
&c., but as these two stimulants contain a
greater variety of inorganic matter, thew
do not so soon cease to show any apparent
action OF the crops. In many cases one
dollars worth of salt will produce great
or increase in the crop than two or three
times this amount expended in some other
inorganic manure
There are other considerations which in
1uence more or less the success or failure
OF an application of common salt. We
know that in the salt marshes near the
seashOre only particular classes of yegeta-
ton will flourish, showing that some par
tlcular products of the soil are more
benefited by salt than others, and so it is
with our cultivated crops, for although all
OF them contain portion of the inorganic
substances which compose common salt,
yet some contain and require much larger
amounts than others, and if the supply is
not kept up, will sooner exhaust the soil.
Ii common salt only benefited the crop
by the direct inorganic food which it fur
nlshed, we could easily ascertain what
crops would be most likely to be benefited
by 1t; but the salt acts in other ways. If
salt is applied to soil rich in other alkaline
substances, it causes change to take
place among them, and thus benefits the
crop, without actually entering into the
circulation of the plant
In order to show the effect produced BY
common salt, l will make a few extracts
from list, containing the result of several
experiments, which I have before me-.
When applied at the rate of one hundred
and sixty pounds to wheat, it increased
the yield of grain four hundred and sew
enty-two pounds per acre, at a cost of
ntteen cents per bushel, and the grain
weighed two pounds more per bushel.
When applied to barley at the rate OF
three hundred pounds per acre, it increased
the yield six and half bushels per acre
But these experiments must notbe taken
as certain index of the action of salt
upon these crops, for its effect upon, diff
1erent soils is by no means regular, and
this effect can only be ascertained by ex
pertinent; but there are few soils which
are not benefited by it.-SARsFIELp, IN
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