The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-04-03

lHOuouHQ liIlto llIlCE lIlII
any sieve would divide it, and hence in
much better condition for the acting
power of rain, loaded with carbonic acid
and ammonia, in dissolying and convey.
ing ii to the roots of plants. This mix
ture was applied in tic fall of 1877 to a
very poor spot in field where every
other application had failed to show any
results, and its action was watched with
much interest.
Early in the spring Of 1873, remark
able growth Of white clover began Ia
show itself, and this, with timothy, red
top and red clover, soon covered the
ground with beautiful green carpet
(somcthing had never seen there be-
iorc,) and by harvest time ! had fine
crop of hay and the pasture continued
good till December, along with great
growth of some annual plant | am not
acquainted with, and which | soon in
tend TO burn for the ash, rs the stock did
not seem to touch it. A similar mixture
was used by my friend, JOS. Roberts, n
son of your former editor, with results
corresponding in . measure with my own.
only much larger crop Of white clover
where none had been seen before.
| Although with me the season WAS n
very favorable one, am prepared to give
credit to tho application; and being so
much cheaper than bone, it may be an
inducemcnt to some OF your readers to
try an experiment with it.
The mixtrc acting so well with the
writer, have induced my ficnd, Prof
Simon, the analytic chemist who has
charge Of Messrs. Tyson & Co.'S chrome
works, to prepare some Of it--muriatic
acid, ~ said before, being Il by-product
with them in making the b-chromatc #
| potassa, it is an object 10 get rid of il in
this form provided value in full is given
to the farmer. II further test the mat
ter, several Of my nciglbors have pro-
| cured small lots rs IN experiment to as
certain whether it will prove desirable
addition to their land-for having so
often seen highly recommended and cx-
pensive fertilizers fail in doing the least
apparent good, | am rather cautious in
recommending any Of them, even when
| have seen good effects from their use
This mixture is guaranteed to contain
twenty-five per cent. of prccipitatcd or
rrcconvcrtcd bone phosphate, much
larger percentage than is often found in
mixtures costing double the money.
regret not being able to report any
thing from parties who tried it last fail
on wheat, and can hardly hope to hear
OF such good results rs with me, for the
simple reason that what will make grass
may entirely fail with wheat, rs the lat
ter seems to require food that has once
been through some other plant, or, what
Is better, through both plants and ami
mails. On this ground have depended
more on animal phosphate, knowing it to
have passed through both, whist the
mineral phosphate nas touched neither
Wheat is the highest organized vegetable
product, and must have proper food, both
chemical and physical, rs we well know
must bc the case in the animal kingdom :;
and on this point am reminded 6y my
dog sitting alongside of me, that he must
have animal food, although Of the same
compositinlAns vcgctnhle--cnrhnn hydro
gen and oxygen, or, IN other words,
charcoal and water. Ii correctly re-
member, ffty-onc days IS the longest
time dog has been known to live on
starchy food, while It rabbit will grow fat
on the starch found in bark, &c.
lfthis preparation will act us food for
wheat, it cnn he made much cheaper thnn
with bone containing 80 to so per cent.
organic matter said to DO able to generate
. to per cent. ammonia. All my cx-
pcriments have made me little fanatical
ON the subject of the worthlessness of or.
ganic matter rs plant food, except for the
mineral matters they cOntain-i e., tho
ash.
In addition to full supply of phos-
phcric acid in the above mixture, there
is chlorine and lime, making three i'm
portant elements for the soil. The
further addition of potash might prove
desirable for some lands, but l have
failed to see any benefit by its use-which
simply means that mg soil did not need
it. The above mixture can be sold in
I city, delivered in bags, Mt SIS per
t., upon the conditions mentioned of
containing 25 per cent. of prccipitatcd
bone phosphate, and entirely free of any
organic matter or free ammonia.
The world liz full of errors, and the
idea that fertilizer must contain 80 Der
cent. of organic matter to produce 3 pcr
cent. ammonia / consider one of the
greatest, and one which has cost our
farmers millions of dc!iars and bank
rupted many and l am glad to know
that many are finding it out, but unlor-
tunately too late for some.
The error think has crcpt in from tho
TACT that ammonia is the prominent ele-
ment, or the perceptibe one, in stable
manure, Peruvian guano, &C., and no
doubt as stimulant in producing an ab-
normal growth of the plant-the same
result beirg obtained by an unusual sup
ply of W usr. This is well calculated to
mislead many to the conclusion that the
artificial application of it is all-important
losing sight of every other element in
manure, and many of them in guano.
Formerly 10 to 10 per cent of ammonia
was deemed necessary; now ,jcr cent.
Is ample, and many of our most reliable
manufacturers of fertilizers are dropping
it altogether-among them the reliable
house of Slinglufr & Co., who are using
bone ash and South Carolina phnsnhate'
and L know :n many cases with great
success with those who have used it.
Ten years ago, when first started the
ldea that the cir, composed of IS per
cent. OF nitrogen, (thc base of ammonia
supplied all that was necessary, rs it does
of Carl \, represented by only two per
cent all the air. aud yet hundred. fold
more consumed i'll the production of or
ganic life, the idea was treated with ridi-
cule by almost every one, not forgetting
your senior editor. But now what o
change Ammonia is losing friends, and
none do her reverence. On the contrary,
the cry is, chit her again."
I intended to give yon the formn!s.
used in preparing a phosphate contain.
ing about twenty-five per cent. of bone
phosphate, but upon close calculation
find that the material will cost about as
much rs such phosphate can be OBJ
tanned of the manufacturers, who have
every facility in making l., and hence