The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-11-17
MTAs a FERTILIZER.
Whaa yossph Harris Has TO Say Asos'
II In Thn American Agrtenitsrisss


II IN Yha American agrieaitarist.
According to the mcdcrn notion o. ''a
complete manure neither salt, plaster
nor lime il o manure at all A com
piete manucs,- we are told. IS anything
that contains nitrogen, phosrhosic acid
aDi potash. But salt, plaster and Lime
sontzin neither nitrogen. phosphorus acid
nor potash. And therefore they are
not mauurcs, either complete or incorn-
plete. II we accept this notion there
b nothing more 10 be said But while
nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash
are unquestionabfy the three ingredi-
euts of plant food most generally def
cient in our soils, 1t is very certzin tina.
they are not the only substances thai
win increase the growth of our crops.
Lime renders the nitrogen and p0tash OK
our soils more available; plaster makes
clover and corn grow more luxu1iantlys
and have seen decided benefit from
an application of salt on mangel wurzel.
barley and wheat.
John Johnston. 1.-THE father Of under
draining" and one of the most success
full farmers Of his time, used salt on his
winter wheat for many years. he sowed
about four bushels psr acre broadcast ON
the land at the time Of sowing the wheat
IN the fan. He once showed me large
field Of wheat that was also sown with
SIT as above, except narrow strip run
most marked and beneficial The wheat
a ea1h side this unsalted strip was
to1ler, the straw brighter and SITTER,
aad the heads better filed. why did
the salt do 50 much good" Frankly,
do not know. There are hundreds Of in
stances where salt has had a decided eff
feet; there are more instances where its
application has done no good. "Agri-
cultural salt" has been offered our farm
CTS at very low prices, and many have
tried 1t; but for some reason or other its
use does not extend. "Do use it," No.
"Do my neighbors use ity' No, GER
tainly not, as rule. Where one farmer
uses salt hundred continue to use, year
after year, superphosphate.
Hundreds of experiments might DO
cited where salt has proved beneficial.
Why 1t Is sometimes valuable and often
times not, we do not know. We do not
understand It's action. We are nearly az
ignorant In regard to the action of plas-
ter. For some years We have supposed
that salt and plaster checked the evapo-
ration of water through the leaves OF
the plants, and titus lessened the injuri-
aus effect of drought. Some recent ex-
periments would Indicate that plaster
was favorable to the growth of the ba-
cillus or nitrate yeast" that converts
organic nitrogen and ammonia into III
trates and thus rendered the nitrogen
Immediately available for the growth Of
our cultivated crops. Possibly salt acts
In the same way. All that we know at
present is that salt is frequently very
beneficial ON some soils and for some
crops. One of my neighbors who grows
cabbage, onions, carrots, etc., on low,
mucky land depends almost entirely on
salt as fertilizer. He frequently raises
fine crop of late cabbage with salt
alone. On similar land of my own il
the same swamp find superphosphate
and a little nitrate of soda highly bene-
fetal. SO that 1t would seem probable
that salt develops plant food from the
soil. And it is question for considera-
Non and experiment whether it is cheap
or to furnish the phosphoric acid and
nitrates in the form of manures or fer
Hlizers, or whether we should use salt,
lime or plaster to develop them from the
soil. If given amount of money in
superphosphate and nitrate of soda viii
produce as large crops as the same
amount of money expended in salt, lime
or plaster, then Of course the fertilizes i,
are to be preferred because they furnish
the plant food rather than develop it
from the store of organic matter in the
noil