Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1880-04-19
M. H. BucxHAu Prssident
FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH
FERTILIZERS.


FERTILIZERS.
The results of the experiments VIII
of course be most valuable when 'aKen
in connection with the composit'n and
cost of the fertilizers in thu markets
and the teachings of science I'D expert
ence as to their use. Since-he chief use
of commercial fertilizers as to supply
plant food, the rule shoad be to select
those materials ,ohich sPpty, IN the best
forms and at the Lo,cSt cost, the plant
food ,Ohich the crop needs and the soil
fails to furnish. The ingredients of
plant food most osen lacking in our soils
are phosphoric scid, nitrogen and potash.
and less frequently, sulphuric acid and
lime. OF the commercial fertilizers which
Vermont farmers will do best to buy to
supply these substances aside from plas-
ter. which furnishes sulphuric acid and
lime and helps the growth of crops in
other ways also,) the following are
among the most important.
PARTIAL FETILIZERs.
For Thosphoric acid with sulphuric
acid and lime), SuperphOsphates, l. e.,
dissolved bone black and mineral super
phOsphates.
For phOsphOric acid NTH little M
trogen, heterogeneous" or ammoniated
superphOsphates and ground bone.
For nitrogen and phOsphOric acid
(bOth in considerable quanities), Peru
Wan guano and fish guano.
For potash, German potash salts of
the various grades, of which the "muri-
ate," with fifty per cent or more of ac-
tual potash, is generally preferable.
The following details will be useful to
purchasers
l. Superphosphates proper, other
wise called "acid phosphates." The chief
value of these rests in their phoSphoric
acid. They are made by treating bone
black Cleaned bone), Canada apatite,
and South Carolina, Navassa and other
fossil and mineral phosphates, with sui
phuric acid, which renders their phos-
phoric acid soluble and hence available
to plants. Besides phosphoric acid they
contain sulphuric acid, lime and other in
gradients of less or no value. "Dissolv-
ed bone-black" and other superphos-
pilates of this class with from IA to l6 per
cent of soluble phosphoric acid are sold
in Boston and New York markets for
$4,000 to $500 per ton, and furnish
soluble phosphOric acid at 10 to II cents
per pound.
2. heterogeneous Superphosphates.-
Most of the so-called superphOsphates in
the markets, the "ammoniated" and mi
trogenous" superphosphates aud "gua-
nos" other than fish guano" and true
Peruvian guano, are prepared by mixing
superphospates proper, of higher or lower
grades, with some materials to supply
nitrogen, like dried blood, meat scraps
and fish scraps. These mixtures have
the advantage over the superphOsphates
proper that their nitrogen is very valua-
BILE and often. essential, and the disadvan-
tages that they supply less phosphoric
acid and that their valuable fertilizlng
ingredients are more costly than in un-
mixed materials. They generally con-
tain from to 10 per cent of phosphor-
ic acid, of which from half to nearly all
is available Soluble and ''reverted'')
and l l-3 to 4 per cent of nitrogen. They
are retailed at from $4,000 to $4,000
per ton. which brings soluble phosphor-
ic acid at III to Is cents and nitrogen
at 20 to 80 cents per pound.
3. Ground bone.-Pure ground bone con-
tains usually from 20 to 26 per cent Of
of phOsphorlc acid and from 8 IA to g.
3-4 per cent of nitrogen. 1t may be
bought at from $4,000 $500 per ton,
the phOsphOric acid thus costing to
cents and the nitrogen 10 to II cents
per pound. AS compared with supher-
phosphates, bone has the disadvantage
of being very slow In its action unless
ground to very fine powder; and the
advantages that it furnishes more of the
available ingedients at lower rates and
that 1T is more lasting.
4. Peruvian gatano. OF the various
grades the standard 10 per cent am.
monia" is one of the best. This con.
tains about l-3 per cent of nitrogen
equivalent to 10 per cent ammonia)
IA to l6 per cent phosphoric acid and
3 to per cent of potash, and retalls il
Boston and New York at $50. 90 per ton
The nitrogen thus costs about 6 cents
the phOsphOric acid, soluble. IL cents
and reverted z l-5 cents and potash
cents per pound. Peruvian guano is
concentrated, quick-acting fertilizer it
ingredients are in readily available form
Taking into account quality and price
it is one of the cheapest fertilizers i
the market.
.. Fish g'SanO and fish scraps ar
prepared from the refuse, ''pomace, lei
after extracting the oil from fish. Th
scrap which is coarse is much use
along the coast. The dried and groun
fish guano" contains usually some