The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-03-06
IIomc-Madc Fertilizers.

them in the barn an address on chemical
fertilizers and their manufacture, from
which VIC take the following extract,
which we copy from the report Of the
3fdssacluseHs Roughman.
DIR. n. alluded to the meeting ~ "a
turner's barn meeting, or for the time be-
ing, we will call it Our Agricultural
College" and promised to graduate all
his hearers in about an hour without
diplomas. He added that "probally
never before in the history Of agriculture
i'll our country, has meeting like this Of
farmers been held in such place for
such an object"
"As the sight is tho rcadicst avenue to
the mind, he said that at the close of the
lecture, Mr.. Davis, the efficient superin-
.cndcnt Of this farm will call you into
the barn-yard contiguous, and then with
apparatus and implements, such as are
used on the farm, will proceed to pre-
pare, not simply IN ounce or pound
bM fire hna.lred poumis Of supcrphotplntc
Of lime, the most important of all forms
of plant food. He will also show you
other combinations OF fertilizers Il
knowledge Of which it is important TO
possess. You have seen the room or
laboratory below, simple, plain and
without machinery, in which the fertil-
Izcrs for the farm Rrc prepared In that
room, Mr.. Davis, during the past winter,
made about twelve tons Of supcrphos-
piia,c of high grade, analyzing sixteen
per cent. of soluble phosph0rc acid, and
also several tons Of other compounds
used in tho various crops on the farm
He will use three hundred and eighty
pounds of bone charcoal, and carbov nf
oil of vitri0l, one hundred and sixty-liye
pounds, in making tho supcrphosphntc,
and you must observe all the proceed
ings, observe how he handles the carboy
so as to avoid spilling or stopping, how
he mixes the bone with tho acid and
water, how he manipulatcs the mass with
his wooden hoe Tie box in which he
will make the mixture is Of wood, four
feet square and one foot deep, and it is
lined with thick sheet lead the lead in
one piece soldcrcd ut the corners Strong-
ly with hcd solder. a tin solder will
not do, rs the acid will act upon il.
This box in tho result Of much expert
ment, and is the best and cheapest vessel
that can be devised. Its capacity is Just
right for making one-fourth Of II ton Of
superphosphate mt tinc and it requires
n whole carboy of vitriol, SO that no irac-
tona parts of acid are left to cause trou-
BILE. He will use in the manufacture.
! carboy oil OF vitriol.. 1865 pounds
Fine bono charcoal. $50 pounds
Natcr........... 10 gallons
The water is first placed in the trough.
and the acid is added to it, then the bone
is gradually added, causing Il great boil
ing with evolution Of heat and steam us
you will see. You observed in the labo-
ratory that there were roof windows that
could be opened for letting out the steam
these are necessary. 1t takes about an
hour for the reaction to become com
plete, and then it will soon dry and bc |
free from moisture. 1t needs no grind
ing-it is ready for the field as soon rs !
cool. Specimens Of each lot rs made,
here, are taken 20 the analytical labora-
tory and analyzed to ascertain how per
feet has been the reaction. You have
visited the laboratory, up stairs ut the |
end of the building. This is necessary
for tho chemist, rs it is there that all his |
results are worked out, but it is not need |
cd by you. You will need cheap room
with good ventilation for tho manurac-
turc, and the simple implements you see
here are all that are necessary.
In order that you may understand the |
nature OF the materials and compounds
we prepare, | will now proceed to state
the chemical constitution of bones, and
what changes bone structures undergo
when subjected to chemical treatment.
The bony framework of men and animals
is essentially alike, and tho molecules of
which they are composed come from tho
foods consumed. The bones which hold
up the muscles and intcgumcnts of our
animals, come from hay, grain and green
forage, DC. 1t is necessary for cows to
procure q much larger amount OF bono
than they need for the rcpair of
osscous waste i'll their bodies, for the
composition Of milk calls for large
amount of tho phosphates. When you
learn that in about every so gallons of
milk there 10 one pound Of tribasic phos-
phate of lime, or bone material, you will
have some idea of the Importance of this
substance in the food of cows. The
bones of the infant, fed on milk, come
from this principle, and hence wo learn
the medium through which human or
animal structures are built up. Permit
me to remark in passing, that it must be
obvious to you that an animal in milk
like cow, cannot yiold excremcnt of
high value. Most of the rich material
obtained from the PASTURE or from anv
form of food, goes 10 the milk, and hcnco
little is left of value to return to the soil.
We often hcar farmers say they keep
COWS and sell milk so as TO maintain the
fertility of the farm. This is absurd, on
the principle that you cannot eat your
pudding and have it too.
A COW in milk requires about so lbs.
OF bone material year, and consequent
ly herd of % cows will carry of from
our pastures and the barn ton of bone
materials each year. Il is apparent that
this process Of exhaustion cannot con-
time for very long period without rem
dering our fields sterile. We must re-
turn to them the bone material they have
lost, I'VE must, in other words, feed our
hungry plants upon the soluble phos-
phate of lime, and thus give to them re-
newed vigor; and they in turn will yield
the sane back to our animals, snd from
them our own bodies will be nourished.
Plants cannot as3imilate bono in its ordi-
nary condition; it must be rendered SOL
uble in water before it can enter plant
structure, end how this is accomplished
it is important to understand. Phos-
phoric acid, the element in bone which
plants require and which, therefore, be.
comes what we call n fertilizer, is not the
only kind needed TO render our fields
productive. 1t is one OF the three great
essentials of plant food, for there are but
three that we need trouble ourselves par
ticulatly about. The others are nitrogen
and potash. 1t is proper to remark here
that tho great bulk of oil vegetable estruct-
tires comes from the air, and is, thesefore,
furnished abundantiy and gratuitously;