Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1880-04-05
agricultural department.
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND
STATE AGRICULTURAL
COLLEGE.

nj. III. BUcKHAM, President.
FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH FERTILIZERS.
The table herewith gives results of
some of the experiments referred to in
the previous article. AS these explain
ed, the object of the experiments has
been to get more definite information as
to what commercial fertilizers Vermont
farmers can pro6tably use.
The principle on which they are based
is briefly this: The chief Office of fer
tilizers is to supply the plant-food that
our crops need and soils fail to furnish.
1t is not good economy to pay high
prices for materials which the soil may
yield in abundance; but it is good econ
Omy to supply the lacking ones in the
cheapest way. The most important in
gradients of our common commercial fer
tilizers are Phosphoric acid. Nitrogen,
ard Potash, because of both their scare
ity in the soil and their high cost.
VALUABLE INGREDIENTS OF COMMERCIAL
FERTILIZERS.
Certain kinds of fertilizers sold in the
markets furnish Nitrogen and little or
nothing else of much value for plant food.
Such are Dried blood, Meat-scraps, Sui
pilates of Ammonia and Nitrate of Soda.
Others, as Phosphates and Superphos-
pilates owe their effectiveness mainly to
to their phosphoric acid. Still others
contain both Nitrogen and Phosphoric
acid. Such as Peruvian Guano, Fish qua
no, Bone and "Ammoniated" Superphos-
pilates. Peruvian GuaDo and fish supply
considerable of both Nitrogen and Phos-
phoric acid, while bone and ammonia
ted" superphosphates contain a large
proportion Of Phosphoric acid and but
little Nitrogen. Potash is supplied il
the German Potash salts, the "Muriate"
of Potash" "Sulphate of Potash and
Kainit. The complete fertilizers" or
especial fertilizers" prepared according
to formulas for special crops, as corn,
potatoes, turnips, ETC., contain all the
above Ingredients. Farm manures, sta
BILE manure, hen manure etc., supply all
the soil-ingredients of plant food. Wood
ashes contain all but Nitrogen.
There are many cases in which crops
fail because the soil does not supply
enough PhOsphOric acid and where an
application of SuperphOsphate or bone
dust brings a bountiful harvest. There
are likewise many in which Potash is
especially deficient and Potash salt or
unleached ashes will supply the need.
In some cases Nitrogen and Nitrate of
Soda or other form has the desired eff
feet. In others Nitrogen and PhoSpho-
rio acid are needed and Peruvian Guano
or fish may be used with great profit.
In still others mixture of Superphos-
phate or bone dust and Potash salt, sup
plying Phosphoric acid and Potash, is
the most economical material. Again
on some soils and for some crops moth
ing short of complete" fertilizer will
suffice. Aud finally. while most soils
respond to the application of manures
there are many on which all fertilizers
fail.
PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENTS.
Nitrogen, PhosphOric acid and Potash
are the materials which our soils most
frequently fail to supply in abundance
to our crops. But they are expensive
We cannot afford to use them where they
are not wanted, nor can we afford to let
our crops fail when an application Of
one or more would bring a good har
vest. We must then try to find the
needs Of our soils and crops and the ma
terials that will most proftably supply
them.
The experiments were arranged t.
furnish nitrogen, phosphoric acid and
potash, one by one, two by two, and al
three together. Nitrogen was supplied
in nitrate of soda /: phosphOric aciC
with sulphuric acid and lime) in higf
grade superphosphate, dissolved bone
black (; and potash in muriate of potash
Plaster Containing sulphuric acid anC
lime as sulphate of lime) and farm ma
nures we're also employed. The mate
rails we're used on parallel plots of on,
tenth or one twentieth acre. in proper
tons which gave amounts per acre as il
the table.
EXPLANATION OF TABLE.
Thus plot A in each experiment haC
Nitrate of Soda at the rate of 200 ID
with 80 lbs of Nitrogen per acre. Pho
B had Superphosphate at the rate o
800 lbs with 49 lbs of Phosphoric acid
Plot G 200 lbs of muriated Potash. Pho
d $50 lbs Nitrate of Soda and 800 lb
of SuperphOsphate; and so on, plot {
having complete chemical fertilizer,
which furnished all the ingredients OF
dinariIy deficient in our soils; and tn
plot +. M. farm manures of such sort
and amounts as the experimenters chos
TO use.
Most of the trials we're upon wornou
grass land. The weather was genarall
favorable, but in some cases so wet o
so dry, so warm or so cold, as to mate
rally injure the crop. The example