Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-03-01

Plot 10, which was dressed for the first
time with bone meal, gave but 193 tons per
acre. This is exactly the yield Of all the IN
MANFRED plots in this series. The soil of this
plot is mostly very shallow and subject to
drought, so that no amount of fertilization is
likely to forcs it into great proauctiveness in
any ordinary year.
Ia the eastern series. table Ill, plot l, of
wheat keeps up its old record of responding
to good treatment by giving an increased crop
of 0.6S tons of hay per acre, OF the value Of
and leaves profit for the year of 81 So. The
three years record of this plot is as follows
Increased value of crop of 1s7S-79, wheat and
straw, per acre. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Sl1 20
Increased value of crop of 1880, oat hay.
per acre. Observation-Disclosures. II
Increased value of crop OF lsso-s1, wheat hay,
per acre. Observation-Disclosures. 10 20
Total increase in three years .s2S 0s
| Cost of bone meal at 600 pounds per acre
In 1875. ................... ...,...9 %
Interest one year. .................... %
Cost of bone meal at 300 pounds per acre
IN 1850. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 81
interest one year. ..................n 4S-l6 OF
Profit in three years ...........,..........S12 Oh
by small birds when the crop OF oats was ma
turing in 1879, 50 that its rect rds are defec-
tive. As far as the figures are definite, the
result was IS follows:
Increased value of crop ger acre in 1850,
O. Is and straw 81 80
Increased value Ct crop per acre in 1S79-SO,
oat .....................' 50
Total increase in three years ............s l8 70
Cost Of two dressings OF bone meal and interest 10 OF
This leaves an apparent balance against
the land of 50 80 per acre. Ia 1879, when
the oat crop was lessened by birds, the stand
Of straw was so coed that it would be safe to
say that there should have been at leas: ten
bushels per acre more Of oate, worth ST.
With this allowance, the bone meal has q
little more than psid for itself. so that any
increase which it may produce in the future
will be profit Plat 6. which had formerly
been dressed with gypsum, with no marked
benefit, was given full dressing of bone
meal at the rate of 600 pounds per acre, cost
ing 50 rs, and interest 81 cents, in all $40 ~
Comparing each one with the adjoining plats,
81 and 81, having similar SOIL we find ia the
wheat plat the increased value Of the crop is
50 10, leaving 81 81 to be made up on tao
next crop. while ia the oat plat the increased
value is Sl1 76, giving clear profit of 81 o.
the first year.
A careful review of the field experiments
with this fertilizer leads to the conclusion that
it is admirably adsp.ed for renewing some Of
our soils which have been impoverished by
ipjudicious cropping. We may even go far
Their, and say that some soils at present CIV
ing good crops could be dressed with bone
meal with very decided increase in the net
profits derived from their cultivation. Very
striking illustrations of this have been given
in the Garden of Economic Plants. at the
University, which has o black eravelly clay
loan, quite different in character from the
clay soil of the ridge on which the above ex-
periments were made. There, not only cereals
but beets turnips onions, jerusalem arti-
chokes. etc, respond most satisfactorily to
this fertilizer.
Il is encouraging to note that instances of
the profitable use of bone meal by our prac-
tical agriculturist5 on variety of soils are
multiply ing. Thus Robert Ashburner, of San
Mateo county, uses it on the very light soils
of his dairy farm on forage crops, mangels
and maize. followed the next year by wheat
for hay. Some vineyard and orchard owners
are finding that bone meal is tonic which
will keep vices and trees in coed heart, 80
that their fruit shall be abundant and fair.
When their example is more generally fol-
lowed we shall hekr less of the "running out
of varieties" and "changes of climate, :"
which render horticulture Improbable.
TO be sure this is all in aceoidauce with
the teaching of agricultural science as devel.
oped 10 England and Europe. but as Calfor.
MAN experience it has its special value. It
should go far towards destroying the some-
what prevalent idea that the natural laws
which govern vegetable nutrition. and conss-
quently profitable farming, are d ffsrent here
from what they ars in other parts of the
world,
Without going deeply into the chemistry
involved, the value Of bone meal as a manure
may be briefly stated as follows: The glue
and other animal matters furnish nitrogen in
quickly available form. The line in COM
bination, although not go active as that from
the kilr. il similar 10 /: in It's effect upon
vegetable nutrition. It is phosphoric acid,
however. which gives bore meal its special
value the world over, and particularly in
California.
Some may claim that If il be proved that
boue meal is what our lands need to save
them from bankruptcy, the available supply
is far below the large areas to be treated The
reply to this il, that there are now two fac.
tories in San Francisco where bone meal is
produced; but that they are not overrun with
orders from within the State is too evident
from the following, taken from recent letter
from the proprietor of one of them We
are having very steady demand fer our for
tilZsrs. principally from the Sandwich Is
lands. They are used on the cane lands with
good results
1t is to be hepsd that the time is not far
distant when the results of the practical ex-
periments row being made by the Agric1t-
ural Department of the State University, as
shown in the report now in the State Printers
hands, will be acted upon by our farmers and
producers from the soil generally, and that
our manufacturers of fertilizers will not need
to turn to the fare islands of the sea to find
market for their bone meal and kindred en-
riching products, which should all, and more,
be employed in keeping up ard improving
the plant-producing quality of the fast de-
plotting soil of our own broad fields.