The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-03-15
TO TILlERS OF THE SOIL.
Hints That May Prove Of Benefit to
Our HsighboTS'
Articles d Ua1olbtei Worth 10 The Farmer COLLECTED
From Reliable Sources,
HOW SHALL WE SUPPLY
NITROGEN?

NITROGEN?
Many OF our common farm crops are
heavy feeders of nitrogen. Their profit !
able cultivation seems to depend more
upon the nitrogen supply than upon the
mineral constituents such as potash,
lime, and phosphoric acid. Crops like
oats, hay, tobacco, cabbage and onions
are generally classed as heavy feeders OF
nitrogen. The composition does not IN
all cases indicate that they remove from
the soil large quantities OF nitrogen, but
they seem to lack the power to gather
up nitrogen themselves, and unless a
liberal and readily available supply OF
this element is provided, they make
sickly, yellow growth and often do not
mature a crop.
Nitrogen is secured in the form OF nj
trate of soda, sulphate OF ammonia, and
J in blood, meat, fish and Vegetable matter,
including manure. The supply OF ami
NAL refuse is constantly being utilized
for more profitable purposes than as Il
fertilizer, and fish OF the sea seems to
be the only inexhaustible supply OF or
ganic nitrogen.
A cheap way to get nitrogen is to feed
stock with foods rich in nitrogen. Feeds
that have the highest feeding value
that produce the most flesh, growth,
milk or butter-likewise have the high
est manurial value. A ton OF good Eng
lish hay contains only 26 lbs OF nitrogen,
worth $780, dry corn stover 10 lbs worth
81 80, wheat straw lbs worth soc, red
clover hay AZ lbs worth $3.50. There is
as much difference in grains also, ton
of Indian corn containing only 81 lbs OF
nitrogen worth $3.50, wheat bran Al lbs,
gluten meal "a lbs, linseed meal lO4 lbs,
while cottonseed meal averages l4O lbs
of nitrogen to the ton, worth Cat l5c) $2l.
The losses that take place in manure
before it is applied to the soil are chiefly
nitrogen. Recent German experiments
have shown that about one-third OF the
nitrogen fed to animals is given off as
ammonia in the stables and thus lost,
unless suitable absorbents are used to
hold it.
Experiments made at the Kansas sta
ton are also of value as means of esti-
mating the waste that takes place
through teaching. These go to show
that about 40 per cent OF the nitrogen oil
fresh stable manure is lost by leaving
the manure exposed in heaps for four tC
six months during the winter season
average farm, where the manure is not
housed, fully one-third of its value is LOST
before it reaches the soil. We need tC
bend every effort to produce all the nitro
gen we can in the manure of our animals
but it is equally important that we care
fully guard against the waste of this
most changeable and uncertain elemen
of plant food
But with the best feeding and the bes
care of manure, our stock of nitrogen il
costly and insufficient, and we need to ge
all we can from the air. 1t is now full,
established that, under ordinary circum
stances of cultivation, all of the legumi
nous plants, such as clover, peas, beans
alfalfa, vetches and lupines, are able tt
get large quantities of nitrogen from tn,
air, through the medium of bacteria anC
the tubercies, so abundant on the root
of all these plants. Only the legume
have this power of obtaining nitrogen
from the air. Crops like rye, buckwhea
and rape have long been advocated a
valuable ones for green manuring, bu
these should be replaced by some OF tn
legumes whenever practicable. The tops
roots and Stubs of the legumes woul,
contain from 100 to 200 lbs of nitrogen
per acre in goods crop, as much nitro
gen as is furnished in 10 to 20 tons c
manure, or 600 to 1900 lbs of nitrate c
. soda. In addition to the power of gath
ering nitrogen from the air, the legume
are also valuable on account Of their ex
tensive root growth and the power t
n gather much Of their mineral food fror
the subsoil.