Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-05-16
Essential Fertilizers Phosphoric Acid.


an essential fertilizer Its use as an arti-
fetal application is usually greater on sandy
than on clayey soils. The same is some
times true of phosphoric acid, though there
are probably more heavy soils that are def
cient in it than in potash
Phosphoric acid is the ashes, or condensed
smoke, which results from the burning of
phosphorus, q substance familiar to all, as
used for tipping matches. When we scratch
match we notice a white smoke from the
fire as it catches, before the blue blaze of
the sulphur is seen. This white smoke,
which under glass vessel may he seen to
condense and fall as white powder, is phos-
phoric acid. United with lime, it forms the
bones of all land animals. 1t is found in
the leaves, stems and seeds of all grasses
and grains, and, indeed, in nearly every
plant.
The plants extract it from the soil, and
animals take it from the plants by digestion,
When successive crops are taken from the
ground and carried away without the return
of any manure containing phosphoric acid,
this substance in the soil is rapidly dimin-
ished, and after time, all that is soluble in
the water of the soil is removed, and the
land is made unproductive.
In most tilable soils there is, besides the
soluble phosphoric acid, a store of minerals
that contain it, and that by slow decay will,
in time, renew the supply of soluble phos-
pilates. This decay is fastened by tillage,
and by blowing in vegetable matter, which,
besides contributing the phosphates of its
own substance, will, by the action of its de-
caying particles, hasten the decay of the
phosphoric minerals and render them soluble.
Feeding aud selling off young stock, which
have to get the phosphates to make their
bones from the plants that take it from the
soil, is practice that most rapidly removes
phosphoric acid from the land. Selling
milk has like effect, for milk contains
much phosphorc acid. So also grain and
cots sold away from the farm exhaust the
supply of this essential fertilizer.
On the other hand, crops like cotton
sugar and butter take away no phosphorc
,cid or indeed any other essential fertilizer,
.ince pure sugar and butter contain not a
PARTICLE of mineral matter of any kind, and
cotton fibre only a minute quantity. These
ire therefore unexhausting crops, and it is a
ity that we cannot make sugar from the
sugar beet, one of the great crops of New
England. Starch is another article that
takes away no mineral matter; but unfor-
tunately, by our ordinary processes of manu-
fact,re, the remainder of the potatoes, or
| grain, which does contain the potash and
phosphoric acid, is washed away and lost.
In beet sugar making, on the contrary the
pressed root remains to be fed to cattle and
the minerals are saved in the manure.
The practicable means of replacing the
phosphoric acid taken away in crops are, the
purchase of feed, such as grain, bran, shorts,
etc., that are rich in this mineral, to feed to
the live stock the application of bone
manures Ozone meal, superphosphates and
guanoes), or the burning and pulverizing of
all the bones that can be gathered, and the
mixing of the powdered bone with stable
manure.
The manure of our cattle cont iins nearly
all the phospboric acid of the food we give
them, except in the case of young growing
animals. When any animal has reached
maturity the bones do not increase much in
weight. Some of the phosphates in the food
are taken mp to repair the wear and waste OF
the bones, but as this waste goes off in the
urine, the loss and gain balance one another
If the urine, or any portion of it, is lost
there is proportionate waste of this essen
tial fertilizer. If we give food rich in phos
pilates to our cattle, we get manure rich in
phosphates. As the bran of grain contains
most OF the phosphate, bran is more valua
bic than any other feed for enriching tbs
manure Fifty dollars worth of bran fed to
your stock will usually give you more phos
phoric acid in manure than you would re
ceive for the same money spent directly
for superphosphate.
The great thing therefore to be done t.
| hceP UP thc oIoic VI PHooPhoiic aciu III Jul
land, is to avoid as much as possible selling
off the products in which it is carried away
and using such purchased feed as will MAKE
the manure rich in this substance. This
with the careful saving of the liquid manur,
along with the solid, will prevent the ex
hauston of this essential fertilizer.
As direct application to crops, on lane
where phosphoric acid is lacking, the super
phosphates are useful, and they will FIRE
quently pay when the supply of stable ma
nure is short. But there is no necessity 70
the good farmer to purchase these, excep
as temporary expedent in restoring worn
out land. An intelligent forethought in tn
purchase of feeding material, in the hus
banding of every source of this fertilize
on the farm, in the avoidance of sellin
crops containing it and, above all, in tn
careful saving of the liquid manure, will b
all that is necessary.