, 1892-08-06

an enormous conversion Of plant food into
crops.
Therefore, wherever the largest crops ara
produced there will be the heaviest demand
for manures. Rich soils, properly titled, can
ALWAYS appropriate successfully heavy aPPll-
cations of fertilizers, while poor SOILS must 20
fed With great caution. 1t IS, then, the auty
of every planter to first perfect all the other
conditions of heavy plant growth before Gaining
to his aid the use Of commercial fertilizers.
When lhese are accomplished, there will be q
demand for the latter-not q demand 70 sails
~ hunger. but one to grow and fatten.
The swine raiser in the West first perfects
the conditions of digestion before giving his
bio all that he will eat. His object is to trans.
form larger amounts of plant food INTO lat ana
muscle within he animals frame than ls requlr-
al for simple maintenance, and this be accom-
plishes by carefully compromising a ration
known to be both p~aIatable aud dlgestlble. In
successful stock raising, ANIMALS known 10
nosscss intensive powers Of asslmilatlng plant
food are first selected and then supplied with
specially prepared food IN great abundance
So, too, in farming, soils N we pest physical
conditions should be- planted with crops known
to possess enormous capacity tor absoi olng Ter
~tilizers, and these should be stimulated 10 q
most intensive assimilation Of plant food ny
s. IIhnGAi 4DDlCdllOn Il q
r;rher the soil. "~ceteris paribus, " the more lib
erally does it respond to fertilizers. Per CON
ira Door soils ulder favorable conditions ire
ouentlv weld satisfactory results with COM
merci al manures.
Fertilizers frequently overcome untayour-
able surroundings by giving a larger ana
deeper root development in early gro" b, on
abling the plant to Withstand a subsequent
drought. With MS they frequently cause an
early shading of the ground, thus preventing
surface baking and permit an early lay py,
to our crop.
These brief remarks will show the import
ance of preparing the soil Tor the reception
and assimilation Of fertilizers, ana the next
question is how they can be best applet IL
is easy to tell which OF The three lnSiea.ohIs u
plant food is needed Iy our soils 10 gov
large crops. Nitrogen and phosphorc aclo
srom to be universally needed, WINE potash
in any form has given us no increased returns
mon any crop. This fact established, by ex-
detrimental test, is corroborated by chemical
analysis and the abundant growth Of q class OF
plants known to be large potash consumers,
viz: cow pease, white clover, etc. Our tortl-
lizers should then consist of nitrogen and
phosphoric acid. A discussion Of the qualities
Of each will throw some light upon their mode
of application.
Nitrogen, the most costly ingredient Of fer
tilizers, should be applied with care and econ
omy, since an excess may cause abnormal de-
velopment of vegetation and produce in the
sugar cane q low sucrose content. Residues
not used by the crop during the growing sea
son may be leached beyond recovery by the
rains Of winter. At best this substance is tu-
gitive. Yesterday it was in the atmosphere as
free nitrogen to-day, chained IN chemical
bonds, is a denizen of the soil tomorrow it
may be washed into the ocean through our
ditobes, canals and rivers, and there firnish
food for fishes; or pass into plant economy,
serving the wonderful function Of form
ing the proto-plasms of cells, millions OF
which exist in every cultivated plant, forming
what Haekel has aptly called "oell republic"
These fugitive properties strongly suggest
the p~ropriety of never applying nitrogen until
it is needed by the plant, and every attempt at
storing away a surplus Of it in the soil is une-
economical and irrational. Experiments have
shown that, under the best conditions, plants
can utilize only about two-thirds of the nitro
gen supplied to the soil as manure. The ten
dency Of all heterogeneous manures is I'd downward
in the soil, aud hence q rational system
requires it to be kept as near the surface as
possible for the welfare CT the plant. On ac-
count of the above properties, nitrogen com
pounds, particularly its mineral forms, are