The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-04-26
with Salt as . Manure a,u,,e.

Editors Dispatch:l rs Esca5sE - 9Etiasa
experiments with Salt as Manure l'1l, %.
There has been much written as to the
value of salt as manure, and many ex-
periments made, and yet TIVE are very much
in the dark. Some experimentors say 1T
ia OF great value, others have not been aDle
10 ace any effect from its use, while stu
another class have suffered great injury
from it's use. Extensive Investigations have
convinced MS that these diverse and some
times opposing results are due to variations
in the quantity used and the manner OF
usinp. and the difference in the compost
iona If the coils on which it has been used.
Salt in large quantities entirely. destroys
the fertility of soil. The aneients I'M
derstood this, and they sowed salt on, the
sites Of destroyed, cities to insure their BE-
ing thenceforth barren. Virgil reprobated
salt soil, and Pliny affirmed that when
dispersedni over land it caused it to be
barren. It takes but little salt spread on
the surface to kill vegetation, and this is
especially true of sour, rushy, land, after
draining. In England an experiment
made by the application in autumn Of
sixteen bushels Of salt to the acre on such
land showed it to be sufficient to kill the
AQUATIC plants, and late in the following
summer . most fourishing crop Of rich
grass appeared, Of which the cattle were
remarkably fond and for many years the
land retained and exhibited superior YER
dure to the neighboring grounds" Zg..
Very elaborate tests were made IN 1914
of the value of salt as manure, for pota-
toes. The salt was applied at the rate Of
seven and o half bushels per acre, in beds
yard wide and forty feet long, single
row being planted along the centre Of the
bed. One of these beds had no manure /:
one had the salt alone the others were
treated with various well known msnures.
Great care was taken to have the whole
trial conducted with accuracy. The only
point of Importance that is left out Of the
account given is the manner Of applying
the manure. Whether it was put on the
surface or dug into the ground we are not
told, but the results are given. The pro-
duct of the salt-manured row was to the
unmanurei row as 1913 is to l57. Salt COM
bined with other substances gave marked
improvement, and alone it proved itself su-
perior to everything but Chambers
graves" used at the rate of 1899 pounds
to the acre and the salt, combined with
thirty bushels of SCOT to the acre, beat the
Chandler's graves as 240 is to 22O. Of ell
the twenty five rows, only those treated
with lime at the rate of III bushels to the
acre, and sawdust at the rate Of 1863 BUSH
els to the acre, fell below the unmanured
row.
This trial of salt brought out this singu-
L. g., ~ tbot - ~ Nm Inn ruh on oorn hi al
with other substances, 30 far as they were
used in these experiments, except Chand-
ler's graves. The salt probably entered
into and "pickled " the graves 80 that they
did not decay. r.'#
The soil on which this trial was made is
described as ferruginous sand, brought to
a due texture and consistence by liberal
covering of pond mud, and had been pre-
viously used as nursery fer raising forest
trees. Four hundred grains Of soil gave Of
sand Of different degrees Of fneness about
| ESQ grains of finely divided matter, which
appeared in the form Of clay, lG4 grains ;
loss in water, l6 grains. There was about
| Is per cent. of carbonate of lime and
about per cent. Of iron in the soil. There
were no indications Of gypsum or phosphate
of lime. 1t was observed during the trial
"that those beds where the salt had been
used we're visibly and palpably moister
| than the rest, even for weeks after the salt
had been applied" This word "applied"
may indicate that the manures were soWn
on the surface. This condition Of superior
| moisture continued until rain fell.
Other experiments have been made that
gave no benefit from the use of salt, and
after wading through the reports Of g great
many of them we come this: Some soils
have enough salt in them, and more added
does injury. Such lands may be found
along the sea coast, and where salt-springs
appear. Other lands are greatly benefited
by light dressings Of salt. English farmers
"scatter salt over their fields at the rate of
two bushels per acre, with good success"
and this quantity may be enough Some
men have greatly puzzled themselves over
this fact, that light dressings are beneficial,
while heavy ones do positive injury and
have finally said, As salt. in small guam
titles is known to accelerate the putrefac-
ton of animal substances, and when in
larger to retard it, and thus is useful in as
sisting the organs of digestion in men and
| other carniyerous animals" So it
may aid in reducing vegetable matter in
the soil into food for plants, if applied in
small quantities.
1t is often stated that salt in sufficient
quantities to kill wire worms, grubs, &c.,
that prey upon crops, may be sown on
land without injury to crops. This is