The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-05-01
SOUTHERN Farm AND HONE.
Ezes-.Ive Use o. mineral szanure..

hGeessiVe Use 81 Mineral Eanures.
When guano was first introduced.
enthusiastic advocates of this fertiIiKer
recommended it as SO much batter than
other maDures that it must in time en-
tiTely supplant them. These theories
have not been verified by the facts. and
have from the first been opposed by the
hard common sense OF the great mass of
practical farmers. Guano il used not as
a substitute for but to supplsnt barn
yard manure. If such extfavaVaut
claims had not been made for &c at first
II would have aroused less prejudice and
been more used than It now r.. An
English landlord, in his enthusiasm over
the newly found guano, remarked to his
tenant that the time would doubtless
soon come VIXEN the mansire for an acre
would be taken OHt 81 the vest pocket
lie got his RnsWer very promptly ::
Weel, when that time does come,
nave nae doubt that the crop will be
TAKEN dome in the coat pocket TIE
experience of many American farmers
OF the exhaustion OF soils by excessive
cropping, without other manure than
guano, furnishes an illustrious commen
tary on this remark.
In some sections of the country there
IS danger of repeating with phosphates
or other concentrated mineral manures,
the experience with guano. The trouble
with guano is that it is not a complete
Iertillzer. IL does not return 70 the
soil ali the fertility which the crop takes
rom IL; Guano does 20 probably more
perfectly than phogphates, for it contains
not only phosphate and nitrogen, but
some pOtssh and lime. So far, it is lees
% a-wua u. ~
OF these fertilizers applied alone Oh
Some elements certain soils probably
contain an almost inexhaustible supply.
and in any system of manuring we may
omit these without detriment; but as a
rule, soils long cropped are generally
deficient in phosphorus, and the phos
pilates may be applied without limit
AS for nitrogen, l know no soil, not 3
barn>yard which will not be benefited
by it's application in available form for
Immediate use. We are not going out
OF the way in applying superphosphates
10 wheat crops ia Western New York
The almost uniformly favorable result:
prove the need OF this fertilizer. But il
VIII do no hsrm to know precisely what
we are accomplishing by this policy
we are supplying phosphoric acid snd
lime to enable US to grow large wheat
crops and thereby exhaust the soil Of
nitrogen and potash. Some phosphatei
contain these elements in small quaint
ties and some do not - but it would
hardly be called superphosphate which
contained potash and nitrates in pro or
ton to the phosphoric acid which il
furnishes.
On some soils there seems to be little
benefit from the use of phosphates
These soils are of two classes one il
which other elements of the wheat croI
(mainly potash) were so deficient thai
the supply of phosphates will not perfec
the plant; the second, more rarely, il
which the soil is so rich in phosphate
and other elements that the addition o
more will do it little or no good. Sandy
soils are often of the first class.
heavy dressing of ashes, leached or I'M
Ieached. or of German potash salts, vii
restore the balance, and after this l d.
not doubt that superphosphates viii
beneht-auch soils as much as it does on
clays.-[Cor. Country Gentleman.