Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-08-15
Chemical Fertilizers.

lNead at the farmers meeting led ny the Board o
Agriculture at Wells, Jan. 1883. by Dr. A. O. GROVE
MIR. SECRETARY AND GENTLEMEN OF
THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND FELLOW
CIrizENs:-I am well assured that l can
add no new or important facts to the
knowledge of hose present, but the sub
ject of improving the productive resources
. OF the soil is one of primary Importance
that all may feel an interest in the discus
ston of its nature, methods and results
: and what ! have here written is small
amount of information which | have from
time to time picked up in a superficial OF
general way have not by any expert
, mental deductions of my own srrived al
! any new lessons on the subject by which
can instruct any one, and in this brie
paper our object is simply to aid in keep
) ING up an interest in the subject of q
practical nature of first importance tt
agriculture and which promises to become
of Greater importance as time goes on.
We find in our newspapers in socia
: intercourse and in the discussion of far.
mers' clubs that the conviction is genera
that there is constant loss in the produc-
tveness Of the soil going on under the
present general management. 1t i:
claimed, and justly so, as we all wei
know, that the thousands of tons of the
various products of the soil annually
} shipped to the old world is depicting oul
farms of share of their richest ingredi
ents which, unless we learn how to supply
them, will in the course of time cause oul
farms TO become of but very little value
com pared with their present none too good
condition.
1t is stated by chemists that there arc
fourteen chemical or inorganic substances
found in plants. OF these we are informed
that on nearly all soils all but three are
found in ample quantity, the three stated
to be usually deficient are nitrogen, phos
phorc acid and potash.
Twenty five bushels of wheat harvested
from an acre contains, we are told by
chemists, forty pounds of ammonia or its
equivalent in some other form of nitrogen
Where is the soil to obtain supply suf1i
cient for such a crop when 1t is once
exhausted of that element? Careful
experiments in Europe prove that the rain
fail brings from the atmosphere the equiv
alent of ten pounds of ammonia. The
straw, if all returned, about ten pounds
more, leaving twenty pounds to be
supplied from some other source. Ii taken
from the stable we are only taking away
from one part of the farm TO supply another
part.
Nitrogen is not only supplied by ammo
MIA but by the nitrates of soda and potassa.
Though plants contain but very small
per cent ofnitrogen that little is absolutely
indispensable to their growth. The prac
tical deduction from the foregoing fact is
that the nitrate salts or ammonia must be
found in sufficient quantity and in condi
ton to be dissolved by rain water, or it
must be supplied by artificial means.
Another element of plant food, no less
important than nitrogen and more difficult
to obtain, is phosphoric acid The amount
of it necessary for plant food is very small
but none the less essential, for without 1t
the crop fails. A crop OF twenty-five
bushels of wheat harvested from an acre
takes fifteen pounds of phosphoric acid
from the soil In the grain and eleven
pounds in the straw, when repeated crop
ping reduces this element to marked
degree we will get good early growth ol
straw but very little grain. But very few
soils have a large supply OF phosphorlc
acid, The blue grass region OF KeDtucky
has This oloment of fertility in a large
amount, but any soil once deprived wholly
of this acid becomes Improbable and ever
after will have to be replenishcd by arti
cial means. The most direct supply oil
phosphoric acid is found in bones; to be
made available they must be reduced to
fine powder and to get their readest
effect the bone meal may be made to
dissolve in rain water by being mixed
with sulphurlc acid. Another source from
which to obtain phosphoric acid is the
phosphate rock, containing large amounts
of the bones and excrement OF marine
animals found in South Carolina. Guano
also contains it largely.
The other remaining article generally
lacking and most difficult to maintain is
potash The source of supply OF potash
is found in unleached wood ashes and in
beds of chloric potash found few years
ago in Russia.
The straw of wheat has twice as much
potash as the grain, and the cornstalk has
four times AS much as the grain and we
can readily see the usefulness of restoring
those parts to the soil.
Some fertilizers act indirectly, as lime
and plaster, which hasten decomposition
of organic material, or forms new and
more soluble combinations with chemical
elements already in the soil. We frequently
hear the expression that chemical ferliliz
ers are a stimulant of vegetable lie, but
NV understanding is that direct fertilizer
is a nutrient, a food for plants as certainly
as bread is food for the human system.
Now there may he some present who
have not clear idea of how the substances
spoken of above can exist in plants. We
will suggest for your reflection that II you
we're TO evaporate few quarts OF common
I've to dryness you will find a few particles
remaining in the bottom OF the vessel
having strong, bracklsh or salty taste.
So if YOU were to burn hill of potatoes or
corn, or a bundle of oats, the roots, stalks
and grain together, and carefully leach the
ashes and evaporate the lye the same
result of II residue of particles, very small
in amount, will be found in the bottom ol
the vessel having marked saltish taste
these particles are share OF the potash
and other elements which the chemical
fertilizers are called upon to supply as
plant food.
The agricultural interests or prosperity
of this country depends largely on the
free use of the various resources OF plant
fertility; whatever diminishes the conf
dence of farmers in the utility OF any
valuable fertilizing substances TENDS te
diminish production and thus far becomes
public evil Farmers, 1 fear, do moi
always think that in the production OF
crop nothing is created; that there has
only been change of combination in
certain material formerly existing in the
land and air into plant structure, trans
formation merely by the vital power of the
plant of certain salts and gases which wa
taken from the air and soil by the leaves
and roots. The general interest manifested
in the subject of fertilization is the mos
hopeful indication of prosperity in farm
cultivation in both the near and remote
future.
The meetings held by our state board Q
agriculture, l learn, are usually vel
patronzed The newspapers devoted t.
agriculture are active in discussing thi
vital interest, and In furnishing sugges
tions as to its methods and profits.
learn from an article published in tn
columns of the New York Tribune from
the pen of George Geddes that the farmer
of western New York are compelled II
abandon to some extent the raising O
4 Al r..