Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1881-11-24


Western States: Yellow cottonwood
making saw log or rail cut sooner than
any other tree; Usage orange, giving
strong and lasting timber, and not
troubled by insects the hardy catalpa.
of quick growth and lasting timber +:
white elm and western plane tree black
walnut, one of the most valuable of
trees; soft maple, furnishing in short
time great amount of fire wood; and
the fast-growing willows, the silver
poplar, the cotton wood, and the LON.
hardy poplar.
A MODERATE pruning or shortening
back OF evergreens may be given late ID
summer after the terminal buds have
formed, the pruned branches thickenine
and becoming hardened by slight growth.
If done much later the trees will be
rendered somewhat more tender and not
endure winter SO well. Heavy pruning.
when required. is performed to best adj.
vantage IN spring, just as growth is
commencing. Any time in the growing
season the shoots may be pinched back
for securing compact and symmetrical
form. These rules apply to hardy, free
growing evergreens.
COMMON SALT AS MANURE.
Professor j. B. Lswes, of Rothamsted.
England, writes for the american GU.
tiuator an article on subject that is
now attracting considerable attention:
Common salt, equal in quantity to 334
pounds per acre, after being dissolved
in water and poured upon a sample Of
tho l,ln soil h.
allowed TO remain in contact for week.
The column of soil was then placed in
contact with an air-pump at its base, and
water was poured in from above. 1t
was then found that @ comparatively
small quantity of water was sufficient to
remove the whole of the salt from the
soil. In our drain gauges, at Rotham-
sted, where the soil has been kept with
ont vegetation and washed by the ordi-
nary rainfall for ten years, we find thatail
the salt originally Contained In the soil
has been lost, and the amount which
now passes through in the drainage
waters Is only about equivalent to what
would be contained In the natural rain
fall, that is about twenty-four ponds.
The following table shows the average
oAAiOuhb VI CliAtllilt AL Iiit NItillh1G
water passing through twenty, forty,
and sixty inches of the ordinary arabic
soil of the farm
70 inches. 40 inches. so inches.
lbs. lbs. lbs.
Chlorine as chic
rides per acre
per annu1n. -. .14L IS l45s
Drainage in inches. IT Is 1694
At Rothamsted, therefore, it may be
said that about twenty-four pounds Of
common salt is deposited upon an acre
of land, every year, and if not taken ur
by vegetation is entirely removed by
drainage, in an unchanged form.
With regard to the influence of salt on
vegetation, or of soda generally, although
l am in possession of a great deal Of
evidence upon the subject, my mind is
by no means made up. That soda can.
not perform the function of potash is
perfectly evident; at the same time there
is no reason why it may not perform
some OF the minor funtions of vegetation
if it cannot decompose carbonic acid, il
may. at any rate. perform the menia
Office OF carrying away the decomposeo
products, and thus leave the potash
more time TO execute its more important
duties
In the ash of the juice of one of on
experiments on sugar beet we found, on
an average of three years, as much soda
per are as would be contained in 20C
pounds of common salt. In other ex'
periments where common salt was
literally used, not more than foul
pounds of soda were taken up it is quite
evident, therefore, that, in the absence
Of any Of the more important ingredients
Of plant food, soda is useless.
In the experiment to which am about
to refer, the production Of sugar was
nearly equal, being in one case ), IL
pounds, and in the other 4, 1925 pounds
per acre. In No. l the manure useC
was potash, common salt. phOsphates
and nitrate Of soda. No received only
phosphates and nitrate OF soda, the com
mon salt and potash being omitted
The ash III the juice Of No. / contained
1913 pounds of potash and 81 pounds o
soda: while in No. the ash contained
81 pounds of potash and 73 pounds o
soda it is evident. therefore. that in No
? more sugar Las been produced for {
given weight of potash contained IN thC
Juice than in No. |. This will be seer
more clearly in the following table
Potash to eacl
100 lbs Of sugar
lbs. OF
Experiment No. l....................2
Experiment No. 2..............1 L
1t was also quite evident that the sod;
was taken up in the plant as nitrate o
soda, that salt having been found IN tht
Juice. In the experiment where potast
was not used fNo. p the juice contained
considerably more phosphoric acid anC
rather more nitrogen.
In another experiment, where salts o
ammonia we're employed, furnishing al
equivalent amount of nitrogen to tina
contained in the nitrate OF soda, tn
amount Of sofa taken up per acre di'
not exceed twenty-five pounds, and M
more was taken up where 800 pounds o
common salt were applied in addition
Under all circumstances the production
Of sugar by the unit of nitrogen IN tn
! form of ammonia was very much ie.
than its production by the unit OF mite
gen in the form of nitric acid. IN an
other experiment, where the nitrogen O
/ the salts of ammonia was doubled b,
the addition OF rape cake, cons'derahl
/ amounts or SODA appear 10 nave pee
token up from the common salt, as "
find in the juice:
Potash. SodE
lbs lhi
/ After salts Of ammonia and rape cake. l54
( After salts Of ammonia alone. .156
The increase OF sugar where the 30
pounds Of common salt were use
amounted to about 30 pounds per acre
| 1t must, however, be mentioned that i
this case there WAS large increase {
phosphoric acid in the juice, which ma
have had some influence on the prodnC
ton.
On the whole, I am disposed u thin
that, while there Is some evidence Of
] beneficial influence from the application