The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-03-25

V. N. Forbes, West Haven, to James
Forbes, Jr., Shorcham, five rams from
his own flock, and one from that of III
w. Jones.
University Of Vermont and State Agri
cultural college.
FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH FERTILIZER
In thin article and others to follow, Prof. htws
tor aims to draw from the Rcld experiments ~
perintended by the University, some lessons o
the value and use of commercial fertilizers i
Vermont. II IL hoped that many farmers Wi
ind herein answers TO questions which they ar
asking. Questions ON which further informatio
In desired may he addressed to INC, and answe
win he made either in future articles or by PR
vnte communication.
NJ. II. BUcKnAM, President.
During the past two years the State
Agricultural College, in cooperation
with large number of prominent far
mers in the stale, has been cndeavorins
to get some definite information az t.
tho best means for restoring the fertili'
ty Of our WORKOUT lands.
Tho chief reliance of the farmer fol
bringing up his land and maintaining
and increasing its fertility must be
proper tillage and economical husband
ing and use of the manures of the farm
But most farms do not and many, fo
some time to come, at least, can not
supply enough of these. In cOnsc
Uuence, our farmers are using every
year hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of artificial fertilizers, phos
pilates, bone, guano, potash salts ant
the like, and with varying, though, OF
the whole, favorable results. Ii is Ger
tain that these, rightly employed, are
worry profitable and often indispensable
aids To successful farming.
HOW CAN VERMONT FARMERS USE COM
MERCIAL FERTILIZERS PROFITABLY?
TO get some light upon this question
and at the same time to learn moro o
how some of our crops may best b(
crown, the college has instituted eXpcr
imcmts with fertilizers in all parts OF tho
state, furnishing materials and direc.
lions to philosophical gentlemen who
have been making the trials upon THEN
farms. A full account of these and the
conclusions to which they lead will ap-
pear in the next biennial report of the
college. Meanwhile it is proposed to
give herewith somo of the main results
and ways in which Vermont farmers
Fnay use them this coming season. Be-
7 fore describing the experiments, how
ever, let lis briefly rccapitulate some OF
the
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES or Plant
GROWTH AND FERTILIZATION.
l. Plants, like animals, require food
for life and growth. part of the food
of plants is supplied from the atmos-
phere, the remainder is derived from
tho soil. No ordinary cultivated plant
can thrive without sufficient supply
of each of number of substances need
ed for its food. With an abundance of
all these, in forms in which the plant
can use them, and with other circum-
stances favorable, the crop will flourish.
But if the available supply OF any one
of them be too small, light yield is in
evitable. For instance, potash is an e.
sentisl ingredient of the food Of plants.
IL all other conditions for a good
growth of corn, potatoes, or other
plants are fulfilled in the soil, except
thst potash Is deficient, the crop will
inevitably fail. But if the potash be
supplied, the yield will be abundant.
z. The most important soil-ingredi-
ems of plant food, the ones that the at
mtsphere cannot supply and the soil
must, so that the plant can absorb them
through its roots, are potash, lime,
nrgnesia, iron, phosphoric acid, sui
Piuric acid, chlorine, and some COM
!ound of nitrogen. Plants also take sill.
ia, soda and some other materials from
me soil, but these are needed only in
minute quantities or not at all.
3. In removing crops from the soil
We take away plant food. This Is the
chief cause of soil exhaustion. Lack of
fertility ia commonly due, In large
part or entirely, to lack of plant food.
4. Soils vary greatly In their capabil-
lilies of supplying food to crops. Dil-
erent ingredients are deficient in differ
ent soils. The chief lack of one NAV
DO potash, Of another phosphoric acid,
Of another several Ingredients, and so
On.
5. Soils fail to furnish enough food to
crops, not 40 much because they have
not abundant stores as because tho ma
terialS are not In available forms. A
soil may have thousands OF pounds of
phosphoric acid within reach Of the
plant, but locked up in fragments OF
rock so that the roots can not absorb IL
and thus the crop will fall for lack of
phosphorie acid.
6. The infertility of many soils is due
more to their mechanical condition,
thor texture, and relations to heat and
than to lack of plant food.
Such soils want amendment first and
manures aftcrward. Some soils will
give good returns for mannring;
others, without irrigation, or amend.
ment by draining, tillage, use OF lime,
mari, or muck, or otherwise, will not,
YERfyLIZRRs AND PLANT FOOD.
7. The chief use of fertilizers Ia TO
snpply plant food which crops need and |
soils fail to furnish.
8. But the Indirect action Of fcrtiliz- !
BIS in improving tho mechanical condi- |
lion of the soil and rendering its stores
Of plant food available is often very i'm |
portant. Hence cheap materials like
lime and plaster are frequently more |
profitable than manure or artificial fer
.ilizers.
0. Plants vary greatly with respect
o their demands for food, their capa-
,llities of gathering the ingredients
rom soil and air, and the effects of diff
'erent fertilizers upon their growth.
Hence the proper fertilizers in a given
'ase depends upon the crop as well as
lpon the soil.
10. The only Ingredients of plant
ood which we need to consider in COM
nercial fertilizers, are potash, lime,
phosphoric acid, sulphuric
Icid, and nitrogen. OF this list, mag
Iesia is generally abundant in even
'worn-out" soils. Sulphuric acid and
ime are more often deficient, and
enee one reason of the good effect so
item observed from the application of
lnso and plaster. Tho remaining SUBJ
tances, the phosphoric acid, nitrogen