The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-02-22
Excessive Use of Mineral Manures.-

When guano was first introduced en-
thusiastic advocates of this fertilizer
recommended it as so much better than
other manures that it must in time en-
tirely 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 is used not as
substitute for but to supplement barn
yard manure. If such extravagant
claims had not been made for it at first,
it would have aroused less prejudice and
been more used now than it is. An
English landlord, in his enthusiasm
over the newly found guano, remarked
to his tenant that the time would doubt
less soon come when the manure for an
acre would be taken out in the vest
pocket. He got his answer very
promptly: "Weel, when that time
does come | have nae doubt that the
crop will be ta'en home in the coat
pocketW The experience of many
American farmers of the exhaustion of
soils by successive cropping, without
other manure than guano, furnishes a
sadly instructive commentary on this
remark.
In some sections of the country there
is danger of repeating with phosPhates,
or other concentrated mineral manure,
the experience with guano. The trouble
with guano is that it is not a complete
fertilizer. 1t does not return to the soil
all the fertility which the crop takes
from it. Guano does so probably more
perfectly than phosphates, for it con-
tains not only phosphate and nitrogen,
but some potash and lime. So far, it is
less liable to exhaust the soil than any
one of these fertilizers applied alone
Of 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 | know no soil, not a
barnyard, which will not be benefited
by its application in available form for
immediate use. We are not going out
of the way in applying superphosphates
to wheat crops in Western New York.
The almost uniformly favorable results
prove the need of this fertilizer, But it
will do no harm to know precisely what
we are accomplishing by this policy.
We are supplying phosphoric acid and
lime to enable us to grow large wheat
crops and thereby exhaust the soil of
nitrogen and potash. Some phosphates
contain these elements in small quanti-
ties and some do not-but it would
hardly be called superphosphate which
contained potash and nitrates in proper
ton to the phosphoric acid which it fur
nishes.
On some soils there seems to be little
benefit from the use of phosphates.
These soils are of two classes-one in
which other elements of the wheat crop
(mainly potash) are so deficient that the
supply of phosphates will not perfect
the plant; the second more rarely, in
which the soil is so rich in phosphates
and other elements that the addition of
more will do little or no good Sandy
soils are often of the first class A
heavy dressing of ashes, leached or un-
leached, or of German potash salts, will
restore the balance, and after this we
do not doubt that superphosphates will
benefit such soils as much as it does our
claws.