The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-04-02
A New Idea In Fertilizers.

Our correspondent, Mr.. Andrew III.
Ward of Boston, in reply to an inquiry
from us of the name of good firm to
buy chemical fertilizer materials Of sends
us the card of Messrs Burt & Hsnshaw,
154 State street, Boston, and says
"You will be sure of getting good
article of sulphate ammonia of Burt
& Henshaw, whose card l enclose. Their
price is four cents per pound, and for nj
trate soda three cents per pound. In
either case the nitrogen will cost twenty
cents pound, which is too much as COM
pared with the wholesale price, but the
manufacturers of fertilizers, who buy
these articles in large quantities., control
the retail market aud do not intend to let
the market go down. 1t appears that
these articles cannot be obtained at fair
difference in price between large and
small quantities. l intend by an
other year to induce some of my friends
to go into the business and put the prices
at fair living proft-create COMPETE
ton. They can build up good business,
and farmers will also be benefited. Sui
phate ammonia is not as good a source
to obtain nitrogen from as nitrate soda
in this last the alkali acts as we'll as the
nitrogen. One hundred pounds sulphste
ammonia will produce four hundred and
nineteen pounds hay, and one hundred
pounds nitrate soda will produce six hun
dred and twenty-five pounds hay, and 1
know of no reason why this proportion
will not hold on other crops. If two hun
| dred pounds nitrate soda is mixed with
eight hundred pounds fine ground phos-
| phste, the nitric acid of the soda,
having greater affinity for the lime
in the phosphate lime than it has
for the soda, leaves the soda and COM
bines with the lime, forming nitrate
of lime. The soda left free unites with
the phosphoric acid and forms phosphate
of soda. Nitrogen and phosphoric acid
in these combinations are in the most
favorable conditions for the growth of
plants. Sulphate ammonia can also be
mixed with fine ground phosphate of lime
and in the proportion of one hundred and
fifty pounds sulphate ammonia, and eight
hundred and fifty pounds phosphate lime,
twenty-seven per cent will contain about
three per cent ammonia and twenty.three
per cent phosphoric acid, which is the av
erage of these constituents in bones. The
sulphuric acid unites with the lime, form
ing sulphate of lime, and the ammonia
unites with the phosphoric acid and forms
phosphate ammonia. Phosphate of lime
treated in either of these ways will pro-
duce better results than ground bones,
and the cost is less than pure ground bones,
which cannot be obtained in so fine a
state of division as the mineral phos.
pilates. If the nitrate of soda or sulphate
of ammonia are dissolved in water, and
in this form applied to the ground phos-
phate, the mixture is more intimately
made, and the changes of combination
take place quicker than in mechanical
mixture. 1t takes but short time to
get the phosphate dry again, and any Jumps
formed will break down with the back of
the shovel. When the farmers under
stand these points, they will use these
articles in preference to purchasing ground
bones, and bones will be sold lower in
consequence. Our experiment stations
do not do their full duty, but they may
wake up some day and give the farmers
some information, the most important /
believe to be on manures."
In regard to the preference between
sulphste of ammonia and nitrate of soda
as source of heterogeneous plant food, nj
trate of soda, as Mr.. Ward says, acts
more promptly, and does more good upon
an already established crop, than sui.
phate of ammonia, because the ammonia
of the latter has to be changed into nitric
acid in the soil before it becomes availa-
BILE, while the latter already exists in the
nitrate of soda. Therefore, as an appli.
cation to moving, or in spring to winter
grain, nitrate of soda will do best. But
for application wah The seed, as in spring.
planted crops, where there are no ready.
formed roots to take the Immediately dis.
solved nitrate, there is apt to be a consid
cradle waste by teaching before the plants
are ready for it, which is not 80 likely To
take place with the sulphate of ammonia
For that reason we prefer the latter fol-
most of our crops.
But the "new idea " to which our head
ing refers, is that there is sufficient
chemical reaction between the alkaline
fertilizers, such as ashes and the potash
salts, to make the phosphoric acid in
ground phosphate rock to q considerable
extent Immediately soluble. This state
ment, if, as we have no reason to doubt
it is sustained by chemical tests, is o.
very great Importance to farmers who are
seeking for the best fertilizers in tn,
cheapest form. Mr.. Ward says on this
subject, in the Boston Weekly Globe:
i at is not generally known by farmer