Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-06-19
farm, GaFdFa 4 aJonselpld.
SALT AS A FERTILIZER

Science and theory have long since clearl
demonstrated that it must be beneficial unds
certain conditions, and in certain situations
practice demonstrates that it has been and is
profitable application under certain condition
and On some soils, when applied at certain in
tervais and times Some Of our best an,
most practical farmers have tried salt apple,
IN various quantities, to various crops viii
,,S....'sLete success; others, equally practical
have tried 1t, and after obtaining no beDi6t
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 agriculturists can
reconcile these apparently opposite facts.
Before proceeding further to the Investigation
into the cause OF these failures wish to lay
down four aloms, viz: 1st, That the ashes
left after the burning of plant is composed
Of the inorganic part or soil-foot Of the plant;
I'd, That food or inorganic part can only
be obtained from the soil, or through it by
the application Of some manure or fertilizer,
Sd, That this inorganic food consists of from
ten to twelve inorganic substances; 4th, That
each species Of plant, in order to secure full
crop, must have its proper amount in each
substance. and viii, no matter how may
HON. JOHN CESSNA r
tsueect TO the decision Of the District Ccufersnao
ADDITIONAL LAW JUBsp -Aeeping
COL D. TKAgFgnce, letus investigate
tsub:set tie cases which led to these failures,
all of which, had we a fair and exact analysis
ortbe soil, eonld be accounted for.
We know that salt IS composed mainly Of
chlorine and soda. both of which enter into
the composition of all our early plants and
gains. Now, soils may contain enough Of
both chloride and soda, in some other form
to supply the wants Of the plants, as for IN
stance. chloride Of hme or sulphate Of soda.
In this case, according to our fourth axiom,
the application ofsalt would produce little or
no sensible effect. IT, on the other hand, the
soil should contain too small portion Of
chloride or soda to supply the wants Of the
plant, the APPLICATION Of salt would produce
good effect.
Some threeor four years ago one Of ny
Deighbors concluded to try salt as a top-dTess.
ing for oats, and applied it broadcast before
the drill the rate Of two and one half bushels
per acre ever nearIy Ell his field, and found
that it increased the grain both in yield and
weight, and the straw was brighter, making
better winter proyender This satisfied him
that salt was a good application for oats; and
in order to see whether it was good tor wheat,
he gave the field another top-dressing Of salt,
at the rate Of two and one-half busnels per
acre. At harvest be could detect no differ
ence between the crop onthe portion to which
the solt was applied, and that which had no
other stimulant than farm yard manure. He
had made great discovery, viz; thai salt
was good for oats, but bad for wheat Such
conclusion is just the reverse Of the fact as
aseertained by careful experiment, for salt
has always been found more beneficial to
wheat than to oats. Perhaps your readers
win ask, why then was It 50 in his case?
Simply because he fell into the error, too
common among those who apply concentrated
nanures or fertilizers; finding tha. one appli-
cation vas good he concluded that another
effect. We must remember that the amount
OF any one inorgaic substance removed by
one single crop is comparatively small, hence
one application may suppTy enough Tor the
wants Of several successive crops, and Of
course the second application would produce
no effect until the first was entirely exhaust
ed. This is not Only true with salt, but also
L &c IL
these two stimulants contain a greater variety
Of inorganic matter, they do not so soon
cease to show aoy apparent action Of the
crops. In many cases one dollars worth
of salt viii produce greater increase in the
crop than two or three times this amount
expended in some other inorganic manure.
There are other considerations which inhu-
ence more or less the success or failure Of an
application common salt. We know that in
the salt marshes near the sea-shore only par
ticular cases Of vegetation viii flourish, show
ing that some particular products of the soil
are more benefited by salt than others, and so
1t 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 ifthe supply is not
kept up will sooner exhaust the soil.
II feommon salt only benefited the crop by
the direct inorganic food which It furnished,
we could easily ascertain what crops would
be most likely to be benefited by it; but the
salt acts in other ways. If salt is apple3 to
soil rich III other alkaline su distances, it eau
ses change TO take place among them, and
thus benefits the crop without actually enter
ing into the circulation of the plant
Iu order to show the effect produced by
common salt, viii make a few extracts from
a list containing the result of several expert
ments, which have before me. When ap-
Piled at the rate Of one hundred and sixty
pounds to wheat, it increased the yield Of
grain four hundred and seventy-two pounds
per acre, at cost of fifteen 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 not be taken
ss a osELain indax of the aetion Of salt unnn
tnese crops, Tor its effect upon ditfeIen soils
is by no means regular, and this effect can
only be ascertained by experiment; but there
are few soils which are not benefited by it,
Cor, Ge1mantora Telegraph.
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nDHEI