Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1870-04-22
AND DOMESTIC.
Commercial Fertilizers,

nis hardly necessary at this juncture 10 N"''
to inquire what might have been the conn.,
of our farms under more Judcions sss''r' "
culture; nor indeed to philOsoPhile "i'oH -
recuperatiye powers under an improved y s'eiH
in future The fact Is upon us Sna We --'
Rsinssy IT, that our average crops a'' NV
one-balf what they might be Under system o.
high culture snd the questions IL WHICH VI are
,-.e,;.l,- Interested At this time are,-will high
culture nav and how arr We to attain 70 tns'
condition Of soil which j. the basis Of all high
culture?
Were II rot tbst there are isolstel cases where
~ i,i,iicio.s attempt to Guido everybody else
has resulted ia loss, afording the croskers
slender reg On which to hang the semblauco
ofsu argument against it, the attempt to prove
the prsdt or advantage Of high culture would be
81 mach work Of supererog ,tion IS to prove
the accepted axioms Of the msthematics; and
we do not propose to enter upon that duty, even
nov. It costs but little more to till an acre Ct
corn that will yield hundred bushels, than
one that yields but twenty-five, when the land IS
il condition for il, and the same Is true OF most
other crops. Farm yard manure is The great
staple upon which the farmer must chiefly
rely to produce and maintain the condition Of
fertility necessary to his success. Applied IN
sufficient quantities it is general specific for
al ailments Of the sill and cannot fail to produce
good crops with fair cultivation. But under
our present system, no farmer las slthc.en;
manure 20 20 over al his land ami furnish it
With all the necessary plant fool to secure the
maximum q profitable crops The manure cor
taius but very snail proportions Of some Of the
elements necessary to the more perfect develop
uent Of plants, and even these. not unfre-
eueniy, are in such q condition as not To be
readily appropriated by the plant; hence We
sometimes get an enormous growth Of straw
with very light cror cf g-aia, or q heavy crop
Of grain without strength enough ia TIE straw
TO stand up,-implyiDg an excess Of some, as (
well as deficiency Of others Of these elements.
And Just here comes INFO successful use highly
stimulating artificial manure, supplying Of itself
some Of the deficiencies Of the farm yard ma /
nure, but more useful in stimulating the dor /
Inant energies or latent principles Of both soil /
and manure into activity. There may be LETT /
in s poor, worn out soil, some insolube elements,
.ome cold inactive huml-, that may be made avail
sble for crop by the application Of a small
amount Of " commercial fertilizers" and, start
ing with its aid, by j1iicious system Of crop
ping and mauuring, such soil may he rapidly
brought into condition again. But to attempt
systematic course Of cropping, upon such soil,
relying solely upon the commercial fertilizer 20
produce the crop, viii result in greater e1ha1e-
Ton Of the soil, if 10. IN a to,al failure Of the
crop.
a soil Of only moderate fertility Is sometimes
50 actively stimulated by an application OF
concentrated fertilizer as to produce better
crop than could possibly have been done by the
heaviest application Of farm yard manure; sud
the superficial observer. accepting one expert
ment as a bass for fixed rule sets 1t down at
once, as an established fact, that il is better econ
omy to buy aad use the one tbsu to haul the
other from his own yard This, however, is
very erroneous view Of the subject, and is un-
worthy the approval Of ans thinking mal.
One Of the most intellirsn; mauafacturers Of
Of lime IL this country, having
experimental very extensively upon the use. not
only Of his own, but other fertilizers. recon-
nenis that the greater portion Of it he used in
the compost heap TO render more eficaciou- the
whole mass, AMI We are of the opinion that his
theory is correct.
Of the many various kinds and qualities Of
fertilizers. and their peculiar adar-
Ations to various soils snd crops, we cannot
low afford time or space for discussion farther
han to remark that by far TOO little attention
! generally paid to this feature Of she subject,
nd we see gypsum, or bone dust. or superphos-
hate put upOn every variety of crop AID sill :
nth very little, Il any, discrimination
We trust it Will not be Inferred. because we
'vor high culture in the abstract, tina: we
pproye the prevailing system of putting 81! the
iaaure At command upon the w plou-he5
lots. Il Is very good economy, especially upon
Iass lands, to put a light cost over broad
-es and get the most benefit this year. 60
10 afford an increase Of manure next 4 -
yht coat Of sctive. stimulating manure pu; '-
'on fsiling piece Of grass land. viii frequent
SO FL it aiJh grass and close roots as TO super '
d the necessity Of applying heavy cat Of
snure When it is broken up the succeeding
ar. 81