The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-26
WHAT wArERMELoNs NEED.
Use Plenty of Potash as a Fertilizer.

Paper OF State Chemist DR.. George F..
Payne read before Georgia Agricultural
Society at Brunswick
Mr. President and Memb Of the
Georgia State Agricultural Society: Last
summer our attention was called to a
statement which appears to be pretty
largely acknowledged as fact, that
watermelons cannot be grown success
fully a second or third season upon the
same land. even. with the use of fertil-
izers A belief is entertained by several
growers with whom the matter was dis
cussed that if the vines of watermelons
were not allowed to wither and decay in
the field, good crop could easily be
raised the second season, but even ii the
drainage water from such fields of decay
ing vines and melons runs over land as
yet implanted IN ava ermelons, the
land so impregnated will fail TO produce
crop if planted in melons the succeeding
year There are parties, however, who
raise successive crops Of watermelons on
the same land season after season, with
very small amounts of fertilizers.
Thing ii insight possibly be a deficiency
in some particular fertii ing material
which was quickly exhausted from most
soils, a watermelon was reduced 10 ashes
to find out how much available mineral
matter is removed from the soil by fair
crop.
Burning large watermelon to ashes
would not be an easy job under any cir
cumstances, but when it must be done in
| a dish only holding small cupful, and
not drop of juice, not single seed nor
a piece of rind must be lost, and not a
particle of foreign matter must get into
ashes from any source, it becomes indeed
quite an arduouS matter. A line, hand
some luscious watermelon is a very
tempting article when sliced wide open
on hot day in July, but not a particle of
it was tasted The juice was evaporated
| to syrup. and the syrup evaporated to
| dryness, and the residue burnt to ashes.
The rlnds were heated until thoroughly
dry. when they would take fire and burn
like so much wood The juice, pulp, rind
and seeds were finally reduced to ashes,
and the ashes thoroughly mixed
The melon Sc eeted weighed 254 pounds
and was handsome fellow of the Au-
gusta rattlesnake variety II was sold as
having been raised within ten miles of
Atlanta. The ashes obtained from this
| large melon would not make more than
two good heaping tabie-spoonsfuL They
weighed little less than two ounces.
Over twenty-five pounds, or the bulk of
watermelon, consisted of the materials
extracted from the aid and soil and water.
figures and calculations. Only the lesson
they teach will be very briefly stated
| and for comparison will be given the
amounts of phosphoric acid and potash
taken from the soil by average crops of
cotton and corn. A common yield of
an acre in cotton is 200 pounds of
lint cotton and 400 pounds of seed. Fiji
teen bushels of corn per acre is a fire.
quent crop, and that Of watermelons
about half car load. Upon such crops
as a basis the following figures are cal
| culated Surprising that the cotton, cot
ton seed. corn and melons only, are re-
! moved from the fields, and that the re-
naming parts of the plants are plowed
under. Two hundred pounds Of lint cot
ton and 400 pounds OF seed carry away
from an acre of land Al pounds Of phos-
phoric acid Fifteen bushels Of corn
carry away from an acre Of land six
pounds Of phosphoric acid, and half a car
load of watermelons carry away from an
acre Of land 80 pounds Of phosphoric
acid.
This shows that the watermelon crop
does not take away from the soil scarcely
as much phosphoric acid as either the cot
ton or the corn.
Two hundred pounds Of lint cotton and