Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1890-04-26
Fertilizer Question.

ShOulu use ana now tney SnOuiu uSS
them, few words may not be out
of place for the readers of the Ten>
nesSee Farmer. First of all, |
would say that to my certain knowl-
edge farmers waste a great deal of
money every year by using the
wrong kind of fertilizers and in the
wrong way.
Every sick man does not require
the same medicine, nor does the
same man at all times require the
kind that did him good before. So
with your soils, they are ever chang
ing. Washing rains and excessive
groupings will make quite a differ
ence in your farm in a few years.
There is a great deal Of humbug
about calling fertilizers corn, wheat,
tobacco and vegetable growers, as
though each kind of vegetation re-
quired different kinds of food. We
know that tobacco takes more pot
ash from the soil than wheat, and
that wheat takes up more phosphate
than tobacco, but every one
knows that land that is rich
enough to make a good
tobacco crop, is rich enough to
make wheat . crop. So with all
other vegetation, to flourish, they
must have ground suited to their
growth and rich in all the elements
that enter into plant life. ANY one
desiring more information can write
me.) Therefore
THE SOIL
is the thing for you to study. Ask it
what it needs and if you will note
carefully it will tell you with GER
tainty. l will suppose few cases
for illustration. You have field
with stiff clay subsoil. 1t has been
run for fifty years or more in corn,
wheat, oats, until it yields about ten
bushels of corn to the acre does not
pay to cultivate, but the field is
where you want it. What shall you
do? You ask is there not medi
cine that you can put on this field
and bring it back to its original fer
tility. l answer emphatically no
You just as well think of breaking
down your horse working him, and
then think of restoring him to hi
stregth by one big feed as to think
that you can use any fertilizer to re
; store all that you need at one or {
dozen applications. Now this fiel(
needs all the elements that is takel
up to make these crops, but no doub
it needs one other substance that fer
tilizers do not contain in sufficien
quantities, namely,
HUMos OR VEGETABLE MOULD.
1t may take many years to brin
this land back to its original fertili
ty. 1t can be done and even mad
better than it ever was, by using
= complete fertilizer and green crop
turned under that is, one that cor
Il tains a reasonable amount of phOs
phate, nitrogen and potash. Otht
{ elements are needed, but there ar
% usually sufficient quantities alread
{ in the soil, and by using iarg
' quantity of stable manure on turnin
% under heavy crops Of clover, peas
n any green stuff. But any farmC
. who relies on fertilizers alone
= % make him crop after crop on tn
,. kind of soil without turning und'
vegetable matter to keep the SO
~ open and loose, will be badly disa
u pointed, for it will soon becon
A. baked and so hard that nothing wi
A. grow on it with or without fertil
le zers. Another field is said to
- rich, makes big stalks and great de
10 of straw but poor grain. Now sha
I'll we treat this field same as the othel
SC BY no means. 1t has an excess
u, humos or vegetable matter, so mu
I'll so that it is difficult to get stand
IL clover or timothy. If you fertili
10 this field at all, it needs phospha
IL and potash to harden the stalks al
" grain; but usually few crops
Al corn will temper it down so as to 6
" it in its normal or natural conditi
Is again without the use of fertilizers,
So 1 say to farmers, study yo
Or soils and act intelligently in feedi
d. them as you would in feeding yo
Sc horse. know of no subject that t
er farmer is more to be imposed
ne than that of fertilizers, all on accOu
of his lack of knowledge on this su
~ ject. Even stringent state laws :
no. no prote ction to him, for they are
lr- ton niSlp,dinU Ask VOur SO