Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1881-04-07
North Carolina Agricultural. Exper-
iment Station.
BULLETIN NO. b.
Chemicals and F0rmslZas.

Chemicals and Formuzas.
March 26 b, 1881.
j ust at this time the important
question with the farmers l., How
can the best manure be nsde at
the least cost 5? All will find it
necessary 10 supplement their nat
ursl home manu,es With fertilizers
or with chemicals. In answer to
this question | must say, fist,
good manure eau only be made
out of good materials aud good
materials always cost something.
The receipts which are hawked
about the country for making ma
nures out of worthless materials
are humbugs then.
The farmer al rs to supply the
four great elements of plant~food,
phosphoric acid, ammonia. potash
and Inns, all Or in pa,t, according
TO the demands of his soil or the
crop. If he does not get these
already mixed fer him in O fertili~
Ter, he must buy chemicals and
mix them for himself, using, at the
same tune, all the home materials
he has.
The question is, in what form can
he buy these things cheapest. The
best and cheapest sources OF these
substances, now within reach OF
our farmers, are, for available
phosphoric acid dissolved bones
aud dissolved S. G., phosphate !;
ior ammonia sulphare of ammonia
or potential ammonia ih fish
scraps, siaugnter-house offal, &C.;
for potash muriate OF potash for
fire tobacco. snlphate OF Iotashe
r line ground plaster. Where
dissolved bone. or S. c., phosphate
are used il is generally not nece.-
sary to buy sulphate Of lime 10
addition, as these contain it.
Sums OK the costly chemicals
called for by formulas Supplied
farmers by the dealers are conpar-
atively uune+ded. The mouey Of
en- put in snlpnate of maguesia
and sulphate Of soda, for example,
had better be put iu more OF the
more valuable ingredients do
not recommend buying nitrate OF
soda ordinarily now either. AT
p esa,.t prices sulphate Of ammonia
affords Nitrogen cheaper. Nitrate
OF soda at 6 cents per pound sup
pi,es pit,ogen equivalent to only
II per cent of amonia, while sul
pha,e of ammonia at 81 cents per
pound supplies 25 per cent OF
amooia. The nitrate has the the
fu.ther disadvantage too # being
SO very soluble in water that it Ia
III large part washed out OF the
soil and thus lost to the plauts.
L,lwes and Gilber established this
for their clay soils a R'thamstead
by careful experiments IL must be
much t,uer ct our soils Similar
ly [ recomm -nd mu.iats OF potash
Except tor fine tobaccn) in prefsr-
ence to the su!phate. 'iHiHh grads
) sulphate OF potash at p Cen Il
pound contains only anout 27 PEI
cent OF potash, while the muriste
at cents per pound contains sc
. per cent.
Farmers should write to me anC
.ell me- what materials they have
at their disposal or can get, and
will make up formulas for them
suited to the crops they want te
cultlYate. I have recommended the
[ following formulas frequently thi.
+ season:
FOR CORN.
Dissolved bono containing l5ss phos acid SOC lb
Murate of potash 81" of potaso 100 ss
Mould l1s1 lb
!, 400 Ibs per acre in the hill. 2oss Ii
This would cost per ton. $50,
lbs. murate of potash $500 $1,000
D FOR COTTON.
T Acid phosphate, l29s av. phos. acid 600 II
5ulphate of ammonia, 25ee ammonia los Il
Muriats Of potash, 5hx potash 100 IL
0 a bushels cotton seed, or about 600 IL
n | Rotted stable manure muck or mould 500 IL
sso IL
j. The sulphate of ammonia an,
i muriate of'potash TO be dissolved
: in water and sprinkIed on the heap
This will cost, 1900 pounds aci'
t phosphate $500, 100 lbs. of SUI
, pbate of ammonia $3.50 100 lbs
) of muriate Of potash, $500; 2
bushels cotton seed about $2.75
f $20.25 per ton. 300 pounds pc
, acre. Directions for composing