The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-11

farmers Should Make Some Expert
ments for Themselves.
It is in order that a practical farmer
should make practical experiments. If he
ian intelligent man he cannot fail to see
that there are questions involved In his
farming that are not to be answered by
AGRICULTURAL editors or chemists. The ex-
periments that he is called upon to make
are not Of such kind as will in the least in
yolve his success as farmer or
reputation as practical man.
The experiment to be instructive
need not be extensive But small portion
of his time and a small area Of his. land will
be required to show him very conclusively
whether there would be any advantage to
him to apply common lime or salt or land
plaster to his fields; whether of the three
principal elements it was, ammonia or
potash or phosphoric acid that his lands was
most in need of. It might be that his soil
needs little or no ammonia; and that it was
potash or phosphoric acid or a little OF both
it stood most in need of to produce
profitable results. There Is no way of de-
termining these questions satisfactorily to
himself but by making soil tests on his land.
The soil tests made by ones nearest neigh
Dor may be suggestive but not conclusive
as to what your land needs, owing to the
great variation of soil. On a small farm
even there may be great diversity in the
nature of the soil, and especially when it is
located on river and parts OF which are
subjected to overfows at greater or less in
tervals. 1t is certainly sa haphazard system
of fertilizng that applies the same kind Of
fertilizer to the black bottom lands that is
applied to the gray uplands; the same to
the sands loans that is applied to the clay
loans. Whether it is cotton seed meal or
aoi1 v,hoanhatn that a farmpr invagGa in ha
generally applies it lndifferently to all his
fields alike. If one of these is the proper
thing to apply the other certainly is not, for
entirely different elements are. afforded by
the two materials. The cotton seed meal Is
valuable almost entirely for its ammonia, the
acid phosphate for its phosphoric acid.
Our long cultivated uplands are generally
in need Of both these elements. Our bot
tom or other black soils that have consider
able vegetable matter in them are rarely in
need of ammonia, but do need both potash
and phosphoric aod and sometimes more of
one than the other. 1t is part of the bust
LESS of practical, intelligent farmer to
find out which one of the elements is chiefly
needed on his different fields, and the way
small area these different substances
that contains one especial element
and compare the product one with the
other, and with another part that is not
fortified at ALL Taking that part Of the
field that represents fair average of the
whole, in three rows let nothing be applied,
in the next three rows apply only cotton
seed meal Tor dried blood or nitrate of soda,
in another three rows acid phosphate, in
another kainit and cotton seed meal, and SO
on until all the combinations are made.
One sack each of these three materials
will enable a farmer to make a
very instructive soil, test, the
result Of which will have controlling in
influence probably In the selection Of his
fertilizers another year. Is is a matter of
common occurrence that farmer notes
that one field or particular part OF a field
that has fine, large stalks of cotton, but
comparatively little fruit on them. or it
may be fine stalks of corn with only inferior
ears on them, or it may be grain with straw
three or four feet high with very insignif-
cant heads. A soil test would most prob
ably show that the soil con-
tanned q superabundance of ammonia
In proportion to the two mineral elements.
Potash and phosphoric acid, an application
OF cotton seed meal or any other CONNER
clal fertilizer, would be so much money
thrown away on the field What it needs
Is phosphoric acid or potash. or mixture
OF both. So long as there is luxuriant
growth of stalk there is no need of
ammonia. II the stalks are inclined to be
small but freely fruited to their size, 1t in
dcates that the time has arrived for an ap-
phcation of ammonia to the soil.
Our ordinary upland in lack of tests to
show the particular element needed. it is
safer to use a standard complete fertilizer,
but trusty practical farmer will not be
willing to 20 on always IN this hsphazard
application of the same kind OF fertilizer
alike to all his different soils. He is bound
TO make few experiments" or in other
words few practical soil tests, which as an
intelligent. practical farmer he cannot get
along we'll without.