The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-11-06
THE SCIENCE OF FERTILIzA-
TON.
By Dr. M. G Elzey, President of Mary
land Farmers Alliance.

Few seem to realize and act upon
the fact which, perhaps, nobody would
call in question, viz: that the fertiliza
tion of land which produces crops of
any sort is in itself complete depart
ment of applied science. Yet the gen
eral practice is entirely empirical. It
rests on no scientific foundation, and
there is no trace of system about it. 1t
necessarily results that a practice SO
irrational is disastrously wasteful
Exact data for such statement are of
course lacking, yet venture to say
that majority of the farmers, who
have failed in the past thirty years,
have been ruined by guano bills. Nor
has it been the fault Of the fertilizers,
in majority of cases.
have been requested by friends to
take up the discussion of this subject
in the Maryland, Farmer, and do so
at their instance. AS far back as 1877
78, at which time l occupied the chairs
OF Chemistry and of the Theory and
Practice of Scientific Agriculture in
the Virginia College, l made the most
complete study of this subject was
capable of, and at the request of some
of the graduates of heschool published
some of the conclusions reached in a
series of articles in the Southern
Planter entitled, Green Fallows, Ami
nal Manures and Commercial Fertili-
zers 1t is needless to say that these
articles embraced the Substance of my
lectures to the classes on this topic;
which were delivered without any
notes at all, with the design of avoiding
the dismal habit of reading over the
same old stereotyped matter to class
after class year after year. have no
notes of those lectures, neither do I
possess any copies of the Southern
Planter containing the articles referred
to; so that am not going to infict
upon our readers lot of stuff nearly
twenty years old. In that time, it is
to be hoped, we have learned some
thing. Nevertheless the title Green
Fallows, Animal Manures and Com
mercial Fertilizers" to-day, as at that
day, fully describes the modes and
bounds of the applied science of fertili
zation.
I think that whoever examines the
question will scarcely fail to reach the
conclusion that the weak point in
American Agriculture is the general
| deficiency of organic matter in our
arabic lands. This is the conclusion
to which the writer has been brought
by long and patient investigation.
This science of fertilization on a grand
scale must deal primarily with the
question how to remedy this deficiency
of organic matter in the soils which
Weld our stupendous annual harvests.
We shall find two sources of supply,
one or both of which is everywhere
available; the greater of the two being
green fallows and the lesser animal
manures.
l entertain no doubt that commercial
manures, in any quantity, will fail to
produce profitable crops on any large
scale, continuously, on lands from
which organic matter has been largely
removed by irrational culture. This
appears to be especially true when con-
sidered in connection with the promi
nent features of our climate; and this
matter should be kept constantly in
mind when comparing our own results
with those obtained in other parts Of
the world. All the factors which enter
into the problem of successful nutrition
of the wheat crop in America differ
widely in relative Importance from the
same factors in relation to the English
crop. In England they seed wheat in
September simultaneously with the
harvesting of the crop. The bulk Of
our seeding is done month later than
in England, whereas our harvest is
from nine to ten weeks earlier than
theirs. The winter suspension of
growth begins later and ends earlier
than with us. The period of active
growth ending with the ripening of the
grain exceeds by nearly four months
that which is occupied by the active
DEVELOPMENT of the American crop.
Such difference ecessarily modifies
profoundly all-the conditions which
affect the growth and development of
the crops in the two countries. In
England their soils abound in organic
matter, the result of systematic rota-
tions and the vast amount of purchased
foods fed out on the land. In the Jour
nal of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England is published the details of