Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-04-25

practical farmers, for in tho matter OF
commercial fertilizers they, and they
alone, sholld be the critics and judges,
for they have the bills to pay
My experience las been that the most
economical fertilizers and the most last
ing in their effects are fish guano and
either ulphate or muriate of potash and
animal bone, for farm crops i'll general.
For garden crops or any field crops that
you wish to push, it will richly pay to
use some special fertilizer in connection
with the above, or with barnyard manure
or even without either. Within twenty
years | have used great many of the
different brands of superphosphates, but
in all Of my experiments with them |
found that they were not worth what they
cost. | have come to the conclusion that
the manufacturers of the different phos-
pilates get more than the lions share.
1t is an established fact that you can
grow more corn, and more and better po-
tatoes with the same cost of fertilizing
material, with good article of fish guano
| and muriate of potash than it is possible
to grow with baruyard manure, and leave
the soil in good condition for following
crops. This you may think strong
| statement. But experience will indorse
it. | have cropped one field, containing
a number of acres, with corn three years
in succession. This field had not any
fertilizer whatever applied to it for 10
years. The fertilizer used was half-dry
| fish 1000 rbs per acre, and $50 lbs of mu-
riate of potash. The crop of corn in
creased from year to year with an appli-
| cation of the same amount of the same
fertilizer each year. producing the third
year ID bushels more of shelled corn than
it produced the first year. | then seeded
the field down to grass n.the corn and cut
a good crop of hay the following year. l
have grown potatoes on another field, as
an experiment, four years in succession
with the above named fertilizers with
equally good results.
| The mistake amalorit7 of farmers make
is in using fertilizers too sparingly. When
they buy fertilizers they look too miserly
at the dollars they are paying out, and
accordingly use the fertilizers sparingly.
while on the other hand, when they haul
their stable manure they apply bountiful-
! ly, thinking that this does not cost them
anything, for they produce IL from their
own stock. II they apply so worth pei
acre Of commercial fertilizers and do not
get as good a crop as they get where they
lapply so worth of barn manure, they a;
once decide that it won't pay to use them
| have been fortunate i'll getting good
article Of fish, also muriate of potash
having bought largely from the Quinni
piac company and with good results
One year ago this spring four farmers, in
Guiding myself, in my neighborhoot
bought over 40 tons of commercial fer
tilizers, consisting of dry-fsh, fish ant
potash, muriate of potash, special fer
tilizer for grass, grain, roots and al
kinds OF garden products, of the Nationa
fertilizer company of Bridgeport, CT
These were applied without any othe
fertilizer ON 20 acres for potatoes and 2
,, acres for corn, besides IL number of acre
upon which u large variety Of gardel
crops were grown. Thecomplete manur
vas alao used i'll connection with BARI
, manure. We have never used any com
! mercial fertilizer that gave us any NOR
satisfactory results than those we use'
last season, notwithstanding 1t was n poo
: season on account of the severe drouth
BARNARD manure also did very poorl
last season on account Of the dry weather
4 large proportion of the 20 acres of pc
tatoes were grown by using as a fertillze
dry fish aud murlate Of potash sow
} broadcast. | tried as an experiment tisl
: and potash which bought mixed, on th
1 same field with the other but the result
were not as good. This was sown broad
, cast. also tried the same cost per acr
of the complete ur root fertilizer ON tw
p different strips on the same field, by put
j. ting il into the drill alternating wit
strips where dry fish and muriate of pot
$ ash were used. The result was that wher
the complete was put in tue drill, ther
was fully one-third more merchantabl
potatoes per acre than where | used tn
other. I account partially for this b.
reason of the severe drOuth which short
ened the season for growth, the complet
: acting quicker upon the plants, and ma
turing the crop before the dry seaso
, came on. also use the complete ol
most of my garden crops and am so we!
2 pleased with the results that L shall use
more extensively the coming season.