Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-01-12

heir TOP The man selling ground
bone and pure hone an6 dissolved bone
and bone meal and premium bone and
bone dust and the seller OF lime in its
various forms and fish bone and
superphosphate, each tells me that
his brand is just the one l need
Will l send portions of my soil to a
chemist and have. it analyzed2-
| say no; would not give a fig for all
the analysis ever made, so far as they
are designed to guide me in the choice
OF fertilizers. Unfortunately the
chemist, much as he has discovered.
much as his researches and expert
mentatIon have aided us, cannot look
down into the hidden mysteries and
capabilities and possibilities of oGr
soils and tell US just what they need.
Here the farmer must be his own
chemist and, with the farm for his
laboratory, must work out the problem
for himself He must by careful ex-
perimentation on certain plats of
ground and with different fertilizers,
ascertain just what his soil needs, and
then an application Of fertilizers ac-
cordingly will undoubtedly pay.
There are other farmers who NAV
with profit use commercial fertilizers.
For instance, the owner of a small
farm. having large family tosupport,
may want to cultivste almost his en-
tire farm each year. To do this, he
must annually pay back To the farm in
some way the fertility extracted oy the
various crops. He can do this in no
way so cheaply as by the use of the
best brands of commercial fertilizers.
But perhaps, after all, he had better
not use commercial fertilizers. Is it
wise here among the hills of Ohio to
follow this system of farming? We
cannot compete In the raising of gl ain
with the more level portions of Ohio.
This year, by reference to the crop re-
port, you in Belmont raised an average
Of Il bushels wheat per acre, and San
dusky Co. raised Is, and Miami I9
bushels. Last year you raised IA and
Sandusky 21, and Miami "a bushels
per acre. When it is recollected that
one man and team will farm a less
number of acres, and consequently the
profits on an acre will be less, does it
not point to the fact that the above
Lamed farmer should either engage in
daiIying, in which all tae boys and
girls can be employed, and in which
large quantities of manure are daily
made, or the growing of fruits, large
and small, evaporating them and put
ting them in markets, that not now
and pever will be cverstocked?
A neighbor of the writer uses fertil-
izers to profit. He has a field contain
ing acres, es,conveniently located to the
barn, which be keeps in wheat from
year to year and adds in fertilizers
each year the amount taken of by the
wheat Also, when a farm has been
exhausted by bad tillage, it can more
quickly be restored to its normal con-
dition by the use of fertilizers than IL
any other way. Also when one appli-
cation of given fertilizer will secure q
catch" of grass, it pays.
But in my experience and observa-
tion, limited it IS true, in our general
and under ordinary circum-
an extensive use of ofcommercial
fertilizers will not pay in S. E. Ohio.
Our lands in S. E. Ohio, IN their virgin
state, are rich in all the elements of
plant food, and good farming will
keep them rich.
No farmer can at any time or under
my circumstances buy any brand Of
commercial fertilizers until he has
lsed all the available homemade
manure. The great and prominent
source of manure supply is and always
must be the barn yard and.the quantity
here made depends>on the amount of
Itock kept the kind of feed and the
manner of saving the manure when
made. The farmer should always
Ieep enough of stock to turn sll his
,rain, hay and straw into wool,
,ork and beef, and when prices leave
my margin, should buy feed and stock
rom those unwilling or unable to feed,
md thus increase his manure b ap.
Also have coarse straw, leaves, shay
ngs or saw-dust constantly present to
.bsorb the liquid parts. My own prac-
ice has heen to put 6 inches Of saw
lust on the floor of all sheep sheds
nd around the horse and cattle barn,
nd thus save all the liquid parts,
yhich Secretary Chamberlain has
is equal from esch ami
nal to the solid parts. If the liquid
arts are thus absorbed it is wonder
al how rich such pile of manure be
ONES. Such pile, il stirred, will be
n fire in less than "a hours. Iftothis
!, added the night soil and washing OF
he kitchen, the csrcasses of dead ami
lals, bones, leather scraps, muck from
wamps and spring drainS these in sd-
ition to ashes and the guano Of the
emery, furnish the farmer bank that
Till not break or default or suspend
ayment. He has commercial fertil-
zer that is the best in the market-he
as q fertilizer that has the proper
lements of fertility, in the proper
and in available forms
Or use-he has natures great restora-
i've for lost fertility. Let the farmer
Sc commercial fertilizers cautiously
nd not as q substitute, but as a COM
lement to the barn yard.
IMPORTANT TO TRAvELEaS.-Special Ia
ucements are offered you by the Burlington
QUITE. Is will pay you to resd their adver-
sement to be found elsewhere in this issue.