Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-04-06
AGRICULTURAL.
Phosphatcs nv Appctizers.

II. d. Curtis III the co"'ry Genteman.l
A little knot of formcrs were discussing
the other dav tho benefits Of nbnsnhntos
One said he sowed n hundred ponnds to
! tho acre. and he had spood wheat. "
Another had put phosphate in the hill
with his corn. and he had "first rate corn.
1t grew right along" Another said oJ
like phosphatc. if is such an eosy way to
manure the land" The last man mt in
the clincher: 81 do not know that it il
so much of manure, but it is n good ap-
petizer" So is whiskev. [ do not be-
iieve in paving so or 30 per ton for
"appetizers" for land any more than
do in ATTEMPTING to live on stimulants.
There is enough virtue in most phos-
phates to stimulate a crop at first, and
cause it to start with more rapid growth.
In the same way n good drink of simu-
liant will give person brave start, but
the trouble is the effect is not sufficiently
lasting-it does not hold out, In many
cases this stimulated growth is damaged.
for when the cause is exhausted the plant
is weakened and checked in its growth. or
else 1t has formed an unnatural stem or
stalk which the soil is not able to supply.
while if there had not been this excess Of
stalk or stem there would have been no
check, but an ability on the part of the
soil to have met ali of the requirements
of the plant.
Before commercial manurcs were puilel
up to the extent they are now, ! had o
notion ] could make corn grow on the
same principal l-stimulation-and | pre-
pared compound not wisely mixed, per-
haps, but about rs sensible as many of
, the modern doses which farmers swallow
SO easily, and put this mixure into the
| m :. Al
my corn. 1t came MP 10 green and rank
as to attract the notice of persons passing
: on the road. and the stalks were grand,
but never had SO few ears in proportion.
My compound consisted of air slaked
lime, plaster (sulphate of lime), and wood
, ashes Now a chemist can tell me Just
, what was lacking, ! suppose, and if | had
put that in, there wouid have been pro-
pOrtionate crop of ears. | should like to
have him. Now I will tell him some
thing If / had kept my compound out
of the hill, and had natural growth Of
stalks, such as the land would have pro-
, duced, the crop would not have had the
set back it did, and there would have been
a proportionatc crop Of ears. NV point
is, that stimulating a crop is an injury.
unless it can be kept up until it natures.
As farmers usually use commercial ma
nures, they do little If anything more
!. than push the crop at the start, and often
! this extra growth is an injury I watch
> ed field of of buckwheat last summer
: with n great deal Of interest, where the
: seed had been drilled i'll with some kind
u of phosphate, and strip left across the
lot without any of it. Tie phusphatei
part came up first, and Mt blossoming
n time was several inches taller than the
a
c The straw-mark .this-was Il great deal
n coarser, and the leaves broarder. and til <;
s clusters of blossoms more scattered or
n wider apart. The owner said he did not
S think there was any better Weld, and do
/, not think there was MS good. The phos-
Ii pbated part grew faster. blossomed first.
n and was few davs ripcr. although it was
/, all cut at the same time
+ On soil so Door in organic matter lthe
y basis of vegetable GROWTH that it would
Il not produce a crop, chemical fertilizers no
). doubt could be added to cause crop to
IS grow. They would also help to extract
a plant food from the soil. but would a crop
If grown at such an expense pav? [ do not
5. like such foundation to build upon. As
N a last resort it might do | know there
d is n great deal of wisdom spread on here
'e by professors and manufacturers of chem
Z. lCal cOmpDunuS to most OF us II Is dust
II in our ewes so far MS comprehendlue
ID their talk but they do succeed in selliuga
a. worl of stuff. which in nv humble Opinion
does very little good. Not one Of the
farmers whose remarks I quoted Mt the
III beginning of this article. ka0rs that lie
r was benefited in the least bv his evpen-
T. diture for phosphatcs. The probahili
ties are that they throw AWAY their mon,
if ev md thousunds of others are DOING
III the snro thing every y,nr Does it never
De occur to our farmers that possibly they
NAV bo humbupced a ,iltleP Only n few
~ Years ago there were few makers OF com
II ;nercial stimulants. or as the farmers cal
. them. "phosphates " Now their name i.
" legion and every third farmer ia an agent
- H. f,nn,o,s an1 ,,L;Iosonho,u nIIroy,
been fools. or have there been new dis
10 coverles IN the science OF growth, whici
rl can ohly ne ue'eiope" Ill tHe Hlpor"t"I.
in OF some phosphate-cohpouh es'"o
,e- lishment!
1t would be more proitahlr Tor farmer
rec when they meet To DISCUSS now they ca
ri increase the nu'k ana luall'y "i n"rhEar'
f manure, and turn their gram, straw an,
' p, hay to the best account to increase growtl
. on the fnrm To eNhort ench other 10 Det
nj ter cnltnre, winch VIII pay more IN IN
: end than ny nuyinS i'iliIlAIs' uo no
l.I NINNa Ina