The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-16

Per Acre
bblS.
! Ammonia enough for. ................-.. 3S4
| z osphorlc acid enough for ............. 6i5
| Potash enough for ,..................... 2SS
A glance at these figures shows a relative
| deficiency OF potash and an excess OF phos-
ph, ric acid. The addition of 1854 pounds Of
muri To of potash. at cost OF 81 per acre,
would increase the yield. theoretically, 90
| barrels, equalIBg the ammonia product. A
barrel of l5J pounds net OF potat es con
tains 0.24 pounds OF phosphoric acid. 0.6
pounds of ammonia and 0.S pounds OF pot
| ash, and of all brands known to me the
! Cigar Leaf No. |, containing per cent. Of
phosphoric acid, 5 per cent. OF ammonia
| and 10 Der cent. Of potash, seems to
answer the scientific requirements better
than any other. With the ID tons 81 stable
manure ahalf ton Of the Cigar Leaf. suppos-
! ing all the plant food absorbed by the crop,
there would he supplied ammonia enough
for 1857 barrels, phosphoric acid Q ough for
SO barrels aud potss enough for 350% bar
rels, but it might be improved by an in
creased percentage of ammonia and by a
decreased percentage OF phosphoric a i'd.
When the cotton planter applies his 2O0
pounds OF C numerical fertilizer alone per
acre d realizes his acreage OF lA5 pounds
of lint, he puts IN pounds of ammonia ami
takes out OF the soil in tbs seed alone 10
pounds Of ammonia.
Suppose one Of you, having learned by
| experience the necessity of f1ciant and
judicious fertilization, and being confined
to a smaller area, were to attempt, or 20
return. to the cultivation of cott N; would
you resort TO such methodist Mr.. Exley,
| for instance, having realized 40 barrels OF
potatoes from one acre, INSTEAD OF wasting
his effort and his means on twenty acres
for that bulk Of all sizes, would probably
| seek to gain from one acre, like some OF the
/ most cotton fIanfaPa Uhat 10
now commonly procured from six or eight,
| and this is really the key Of the situation.
During al experience Of thirty-six years
as a truck farmer ard as a cotton planter
too within that periodl have Of course { e.
quently observed instances of too luxuriant
| growth Of foliage from manuring at the ex-
| pense Il the crop, but they have been in
| variably in consequence, either VI the COM
position, or OF the mode OF application Of
the fertilizer and never of its excessive
quantity In the presence OF other wise
favorable conditious the questions of profit
and OF supply should alone control the guam
titv to G applied, and it is safe t. assume
that the last load will make the crop and
reduce its cost.
Prof. Vile Of the French experiment
station OF Vlncennes says: Science should
be our guide, its meth, DIS our auxilliaries
and lis principles the foundation Of our
deductions. BY the use of manure man Hc-
quires an almost lmitless control of nature.
Agriculture must increase her products II
she would reduce their cost. and the profit
depends upon the quantity OF fertilizers
given TO the land. The fertilizer is the
foundation OF the harvest, aud what Is not
well MANFRED is Of little value"
Reflections and considerations, such as
the above must have presented themselves
to the mind of the present commissioner Of
agriculture when he advised smaller farms
and more intensive farming IN order to pro.
duce cheaper cotton.
No country in the wide world is so
fortunately circumstanced as our sunny
south ia having SO large an amount of the
most valuable cattle or plant food, realized
as an adjunct to the money crop 0nly
Just prior to the war did the value OF cotton
seed begin to be appreciated as manure dm-
mense piles of it ere allowed to rot be
hind the gin houses and only within five
or six years is the greater part beng re-
stored to the soil by being now
| largsly used as source OF nitrogen
in the manufacture of CONNER
cial fertilizers. How enormously rapid
the impoverishment OF the soil must pre-
viously have proceeded, you may imagine,
when you reflect that the cotton seed IT the
last crop had removed 1888. 2J7, $50 pounds
| of ammonia from the laud. The most
profitable way, however, to utilize cotton
| seed or cotton seed meal is to feed it to
stock and then to use all their manure. II
a ton of wheat straw is fed to cattle the
manure is worth 81 6S. IL ton OF cotton
| seed meal, then the manure Is worth S27 SO.
| A ton of good stable manure contains 10
pounds of ammonia, while ton OF manure
| from cattle fed on cotton SEED meal con-
tains 100 pounds.
In 1890 upward Of 800 900, 900 were
invested in truck farming in the United
States. The staple farm crops OF onions. OF
sweet POTATOES and Irish potatoes and those
OF market gardens, are not included in this
estimate The total value OF the 534, 44O
acres planted was $40. l56, 294, of the aver
age value OF sl4l per acre. The value Of
the produce was $40, SIT. l55 and the value
1 per acre was S163. The net profit per acre
amounted 70 500. After deducting S24,-
000, QUO for labor, nnanures, seeds, ETC., there
remained nearly So, 900 as net profit.
/ Ten millions were expended for commercial
fertilizers alone. while stable manure was
the main dependence.
To realize a net profit OF 800 per acre on
land worth $40 per acre upon an expendi-
| ture of $l63 per acre. was only possible by
/ high and ludicious manuring, and is prob
| lem worth the reflection of every farmer in
| Georgia The use OF guano and CONNER
cial fertilizers is comparatively OF recent
date. About fifty years ago captain was
| compelled TO empty cargo or Peruvian
| guano into the river at Liverpool for want
OF purchaser. In 1912 there Yves a market
for 100 tons ia England. In the next
thirty years 7.O00,000 tons were sent from
the Chinchs islands alone, which about ex-
hausted the supply.
The market garden soil In the vicinity Of
London becomes some time so tenacious
and impervious 10 the air by the continued
| plentiful use OF stable manure for genera
| tions, and for centuries, that an applica-
ton OF pure mort sand becomes necessary to
! restore its produotiveaess.
! Mr.. Knight the president Of the London
| Horticultural Society my father was then
| a corresponding member from Savannah,
| in the '30s made what he considered the ex-
treme amount possible 10 be grown OF an
early variety OF Irich potatoes. which was
% tons 800 pounds, by an application OF
oak leaves alone. ~ bl3.7 barrels per acre
| While oak leaves contain all the elements OF
plant food Ia fair quantity, the result was
probably attributable ehishy 70 their phys
lcal effects upon an extremely rich garden
soil. e5es Johnson's Gardner. vol. 1, D.
| I27.l
Green manuring should DO prsotIcsd by
syery farmer, whatever be The cog he
| gfaHfa n IA fHa ehaaHRsf raadlasf ana