St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-04-14
CONCERNING NITROGEN.
Where the Farmer Must Look for the Chief
Supply of Plant Food.

Where the Farmer Must Look for the Chief
Supply of Plant Food.
The unscientifc farmer is of the
opinion that leguminous crops, such as
clover, beans, alfalfa, ETC., add to the
fertility of the soil, instead of draining
it. Such, however, is not really the
fact. This class of plants have deep
searching roots, and obtain from
deeper in the earth the rich supplies of
nitrogen, which the shallow rooted
plants do not reach. The leguminous
plants above named incorporate more
nitrogen in their composition than
many other kinds. And when the crop
is removed more nitrogen is removed
from the soil than with crop of wheat
or corn. But the way clover, alfalfa,
etc., fertilize the soil is by drawing it
from deeper in the earth. and in the
decay of their roots, leave in the sur
face soil, and for the support of shall
low-rooted plants, a large amount of
nitrogen. This is one of the principal
ways in which these lcguminous plants
benefit the soil. Some agricultural
chemists contend that they collect or
absorb in their growth much of this
nitrogen from the atmosphere.
But the best authorities almost as
tonish us with the statements which
they make as to the amount of nitro
gen in good soils. Kroker showed long
ago that good, cultivated soil contains
not less than one per cent. of nitrogen,
or 8, 500 pounds to the acre in the loan
one foot deep. And A. Miller, in his
chemical analysis of soils found as high
as 26 per cent. Boussingault also, on
Analysing number of loans OF good
quality, taken from different localities,
found from 5000 to 10000 pounds Of
nitrogen to the acre. taken to the depth
of eighteen inches. This is soil nitro
gen. Storer says there are % pounds
OF nitrogen in each ton of timothy hay,
in a ton OF clover 43 pounds, and if
three tons of red clover be taken from
an acre, which is not uncommon, a
crop takes from the soil 129 pounds
per acre.
Lewis and Gilbert by careful experi-
ments proved that cropping continue
ally, without returning nitrogen
in some shape to the soil, will render
it barren and unfruitful. Storer says
(volume one, page 35D: 'It is to the
soil that the farmer must look for all
the chief supply of nitrogen, as well
as for all of the other kinds of plant
food except oxygen and carbonic acid.
Most of the nitrogen of the soil exists
there in insoluble and inert forms,
which have never been accurately
studied" While nitrogen comes al
most exclusively to plants from the soil,
ammonia, oxygen and carbonic acid
comes to plants from the air. The
amount of carbonic acid Gas stated by
Storer) in the air is almost incredible.
He says there are % tons of carbonic
acid in the air to every acre of the
earth's surface. So if mans misman-
agement exhausts the nitrogen of the
soil. there is little danger of his inn
providence exhausting the supply of
carbonic acid, which is so important to
animal and vegetable life.
Oxygen is another element necessary
for plant growth and animal life, which
no extravaganza of man will ever ex-
haust. Eight-ninths of water, one
fourth air, rs we'll as one-half of all
silica, chalk and alumnia, which are
| the three chief constituents of the
earth's surface, is oxygen. OF this man
need not be saving. Ammonia is an
other element in plant life and growth
which smost frequently combined with
other elements. But all of these things
open wide field for the study and in
vestigation of farmers. But especially
that of nitrogen, which constitutes the
best element of all natural or CONNER
cial fertilizers.-DesM oi,ses Register.