The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-07-01
The Fertilizer Problem.

come to our knowledge. The Scotch
farmers are perhaps as wide-awake in
this matter as any. Their rents are
high, and much of their land naturally
poor and cold. They are very little dis
posed to pay out money for uncertain
values, and insist, not only on low
prices and high analysis, but on
knowing by actual experiment how
much manufacturing and how little, is
needed with the chemical manures.
Samuel ID. Shirriff of Haddingtonshire
seems to be reliable and intelligent
experimenter, and we give a recently
published article of his below, which
our readers will, we think, find worthy
of consideration. Mr.. Shirriff says:
" Having made since 1916 the appli-
cation of special manures a hobby, if
such a term may be applied to such an
important subject, besides giving re-
ports upon, and having been specially
appointed by the Scottish Highland
and Agricultural Society to conduct eX-
periments over series of years, the
writer can produce data to support
every statement advanced.
g First let me state that enormous
sums have been lost by the misapplica-
ton of artificial fertilizers. For eX-
ample An expensive manure such as
nitrate of soda, which at the time some
of these experiments were made was
selling at 1892 per hundred pounds, was
applied by some farmers to beans, from
the idea that because beans contained
so much nitrogen in the straw they
needed heterogeneous manure to stimu-
late their growth. But practice proved
| just the very reverse. Beans require a
mixture of superphosphate with sui
phate of soda, and but small percent
age of ammonia. The writer once ac-
tually heard the professor of agricul-
ture in college recommending to his
students nitrogen for the growth of
! beans.
-" Another great mistake, which is
still being made, is in the use of a too
highly soluble superphosphate. Its use
is due to ignorance of the fact that
soluble phosphoric acid becomes in
soluble in almost every soil on which it
is applied, of course more rapidly on
has been used.
" / most confidently recommend far
mers to manufacture and mix at home
all their artificial manures. AT this
season a few hints may be of value in
regard to top-dressings. Young grass
should be top-dressed, where it is in
tended to remain for another year, with
bone-meal. On all soils intended for
potatoes or turnips, bone-meal, or fine
ground bones (Which is almost the best
form of phosphoric acid and most per-
manent in its effects) should be applied
as early as possible; long before either
the potatoes are planted or the turnip
seed sown, to allow of their decomposi-
ton as early as possible. Young wheat
and other grains should be top-dressed
with mixture of fine bone-meal, SUI
perphosphate, sulphate of ammonia and
common salt. After being applied, the
wheat should be well narrowed.
To manufacture a cheap and use
full fertilizer, farmers should purchase
raw coprolites, or good phosphate
guano, sulphate of ammonia, gypsum
and common salt. Wood ashes make
one of the best and cheapest sources
of potash. The ash is admirably adapted
for drying and mixing with the other
manures. Sulphuric acid is required
for dissolving the coprolites or phos
phatic guanos. This is obtained in car
boys and is easily transported. The
most profitable percentage of soluble
phosphate in a superphosphate would
not exceed twelve or fourteen per cent
when applied as top-dressing for any
kind nf hnt thara he
exceptional cases where it may be de-
sirable to force some crop for early use.
1.-THE top-dressing of wheat depends
much on the variety of wheat. Square
head (of which | sent you lot last
falD, from its extraordinary stiffness OF
straw, will stand large quantity OF
ammonia, and in experience the best
top-dressing is one hundred pounds OF
sulphate of ammonia, two hundred
pounds of superphosphate and one hun.
dred pounds of common salt, for one
acre-four thousand eight hundred forty
square yards. This should be har
rowed in after application"
The "raw coprolites spoken of b,
} Mr.. Shirriff, are small, regularly formed
|, phosphate stones, which are found il
, great abundance in some localities o
} Great Britain. Their composition il
: almost identical with the South Caro-
, lima phosphate rock, and from thei
7 uniform size and markings, and TIT
l fact that they contain portions of scales
) bones, teeth and shells and are foun'
} among the fossil bones where the bow
els of the beast would be, causes tn
: biologists to infer that they are the fos
5 SLICED dung of antediluvian reptiles
, Phosphate guano is also of simila
5 composition, and is found on some o
5 the smaller West India islands, an
t elsewhere that marine birds assembl
: in great numbers. This phosphate
9 guano differs from Peruvian guano il
/ having little or no nitrogen. The Pc
: ruvian guano islands are in rainles
+ region, and the bird manure on ther
t retains all its qualities, while in rain
=. district the heterogeneous matter is washe
e out, and only the phosphate matter re
:. mains. In this country the South Can
s DINA rock is, aside from bones, almos
e the only phosphate material offered fo